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| Europe |
| Gunman kills 5, then himself, in Finnish mall shooting spree |
| 2009-12-31 |
| The body of a man who shot dead four people in a shopping centre after killing his ex-girlfriend has been found in an apartment on the outskirts of Helsinki. Ibrahim Shkupolli, 43, killed his former partner before apparently hunting down her lover at the shopping mall where he worked. He took out out a 9mm pistol and started shooting early this morning as shoppers stocked up on food and drink for the new year holiday at the Prisma supermarket on the second floor of a mall in Espoo, a large town close to the capital Helsinki. His body was found at his apartment in a suburb of Helsinki shortly after his ex-girlfriend was found dead in a house in Espoo. Police believe her killing had a domestic motive. It is thought the woman worked in the mall where Shkupolli embarked on his rampage, and that he was subject to a restraining order. Jyrkky Kallio, a local police chief, said there were hundreds of people in the mall at the time of the shooting. One male victim had been shot twice in the head, said Stefan Soederstroem, head of Espoo police. It is believed that he was the lover of the gunman's ex-girlfriend. Altogether, four people appear to have been killed at the mall – three men and a female shop assistant who was shot in the stomach. After the shootings, police launched a manhunt for Shkupolli, issuing a picture of the suspect and advising people not to attempt to overpower him. They were able to narrow down the prime suspect relatively quickly on the basis of witness testimony. His name appears to be of Kosovan-Albanian origin and police said he was not born in Finland. Members of Finland's anti-terror squad, wearing heavy body armour, scoured the labyrinthine shopping mall. Evacuated shoppers were told to leave their purchases and not to collect their cars. Trains were ordered not to stop at the station closest to the mall and armed units were stationed in Helsinki train station in case the gunman had already slipped into the capital. Although Espoo is big by Finnish standards, the community is close and it is not a place associated with violent crime. Many of the 240,000 inhabitants work for Nokia, and the town has a university research centre and well-funded schools. It was, however, the third mass shooting in Finland in two years and is likely to prompt a new debate about gun control. Naturally, the rest of the article is about "the slow progress that has been made in tightening gun ownership" in Finland. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 IIUC, he was a kosovar immigrant. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2009-12-31 13:43 |
| #1 Sounds like they should concentrate on tightening Kroan ownership. Ibrahim Shkupolli is not a finnish name. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-12-31 12:08 |