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Gunman shoots dead local official, 2 journalists in Finland

Police tape is seen in an area where a local official and 2 journalists were killed in Imatra, Finland, December 4, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

A gunman has shot dead at least three women, including a local council official, in southeastern Finland, police say.

The Southeastern Finland police department said on Sunday that the women were killed outside a restaurant in the small lakeside town of Imatra on Saturday night.

One of the victims, Tiina Wilen-Jappinen, was the chairwoman of Imatra city council. The other two were journalists, whose names were not revealed.

The 23-year-old suspect who was armed with a shotgun was swiftly arrested at the scene.

Police said the assailant's motive remained unclear. Investigators said the attacker, who has a criminal record, could have picked his victims at random.​

Candles and a doll have been left at a makeshift memorial in front of Vuoksenvahti restaurant in Imatra, eastern Finland, where a local official and 2 journalists were killed on December 4, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Finland, which has one of the biggest gun ownership rates in the world, enjoys relatively low crime rates compared to other European countries.

A "Small Arms Survey" carried out by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in the Swiss city of Geneva found that Finland ranked fourth in civilian gun ownership. Finland ranks behind the United States, Yemen and Switzerland.


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