Police find killer dead after shooting spree in Finland, taking six lives

(Information based on Finnish media reports - see sources below)

Six people lost their lives today in a shooting spree in the Finnish city of Espoo, near the capital Helsinki.

Three men and a woman were shot dead in the Prisma super market store at the Sello shopping center, around 10 am Finnish time (= 8 am UTC). All four were employees at the store.

A fifth victim, the ex-spouse of the killer, was found dead in her home in Espoo. She was an employee of the Prisma store, too.

In a live broadcast press conference which started at 14:30 Finnish time (12:30 UTC), police revealed that the shooter, Ibrahim Shkupolli, born in 1966, had killed himself in his own home in Espoo. Shkupolli is a native Kosovo Albanian.

The shooter assassinated his victims with a 9 mm hand gun. A restraining order was in force against Shkupolli, to prevent him from approaching the Prisma store as well as the home of his ex-spouse.

He also had previous convictions, in 2003 and 2007, for illegal possession of fire arms and ammunition.

The exact motive of the killings is still under investigation.

Finland has a history of public massacres in recent years. Eleven people, including the shooter Matti Juhani Saari, died in a massacre at a vocational school in Kauhajoki, September 2008. Nine people, including the shooter Pekka-Erik Auvinen, died in a shooting incident on Wednesday at Jokela High School, in Tuusula, November 2007.

The following are my tweets, based on Finnish media reports. I'll copy-paste them here in chronological order:

Tweet: [Reading:] Sello Espoossa: Ainakin neljää ihmistä ammuttu - Suomi - Uutiset - Ilta-Sanomat http://ping.fm/vHvR8

Tweet: http://www.yle.fi Four people killed in Finnish shopping mail shooting #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: Three men and a woman were killed in a shopping mall shooting in Finland this morning. #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: Police know the identity of the shooter, male, born 1966. Motive as yet unknown. #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: Shoot-out happened at Sello Prisma mall, city of Espoo near capital Helsinki #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: Police were alarmed 10:08 am. Still looking for killer, who used a 9 mm hand gun. #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: http://ping.fm/ET2pf Suspect, Ibrahim Shkupolli, is known to the police. Updated 11:30 UTC. #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: http://ping.fm/zHaYg Blog post: 'Another shoot-out in Finland: four people killed in shopping mall' #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: http://ping.fm/zHaYg Not 4, but 5 killed in Finnish shopping mall shooting; killer at large #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: http://ping.fm/zHaYg 5th victim found dead in a private home in Espoo #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: http://ping.fm/zHaYg Killer still at large, "armed and dangerous" (Police) #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: http://ping.fm/zHaYg Shooting spree in Finland; five dead, killer at large #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: http://ping.fm/zHaYg Police: possibly 6 dead (not 5), possibly including the killer. #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: http://ping.fm/zHaYg Police have surrounded home of suspected killer #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: http://ping.fm/zHaYg Killer convicted for illegal arms posession 2003, 2007; restraining order #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: http://ping.fm/zHaYg Police have found the suspect killer, Ibrahim Shkupolli, dead #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: http://ping.fm/zHaYg Police find killer dead after shooting spree in Finland, taking six lives #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet: http://ping.fm/zHaYg Gunman in Finnish massacre Ibrahim Shkupolli was Kosovo Albanian #Finland #news #shooting

Tweet:

Sources:

Neljä kuoli ammuskelussa Espoon Sellossa - tekijä on edelleen kateissa | YLE (national public broadcaster)

Tässä on poliisin etsimä ampuja | MTV3.fi (national commercial TV channel)

Police press conference broadcast via YLE Areena

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