Saipan gunman claims 4 before shooting himself
Source: Agencies |
November 21, 2009, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A GUNMAN went on a rampage on the Pacific resort island of Saipan yesterday, first at a shooting range and then at a World War II site, killing four people and wounding six others before shooting himself.
The violence claimed the lives of two men, a four-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl, all residents of the United States commonwealth, a spokesman said. Five South Korean tourists and a four-year-old local girl were wounded.
Police said the attacker first took aim inside the shooting range in the community of Kannat Tabla, killing two men in their early 20s and the two children. A four-year-old girl was critically injured with a gunshot wound to the chest.
About 11:30am, shortly after the first attack, the suspect began firing a rifle from a white van at a group of South Koreans visiting a World War II site in nearby Marpi. Police said they do not believe the shooter was specifically targeting tourists in what was termed a "random drive-by shooting."
Authorities said the suspected shooter was a contract worker in his 30s or 40s from Asia, but did not provide his name or home country. However, several residents said the man was known as "Mr Lee."
Suicide note
The Pacific News Center identified the gunman as Lee Zhong Ren, an employee at the shooting range. The news station also reported that Lee left behind a suicide note that spoke of a business deal gone bad.
Saipan is the main island of the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which has about 60,000 residents and is about 6,100 kilometers southwest of Hawaii. Saipan is a popular tourist destination for South Koreans, with more than 111,000 visiting the island in 2008, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority.
South Korea is the second largest market for the commonwealth, behind Japan.
The shootings created confusion and fear as authorities locked down schools and police spread out investigating the crime scenes.
The suspect was last spotted driving toward Banzai Cliff, the site where an untold number of Japanese jumped to their deaths in 1944 after the Battle of Saipan. When police officers arrived in the area, witnesses reported a man was shooting a rifle in the area.
Police discovered his van and recovered three rifles inside the vehicle.
Officials said the gunman's body was found along the edge off the cliff line near the vehicle with a .22-caliber rifle strapped around his shoulder.
Police at the shooting range discovered four bodies next to each other, and the young girl who survived the first attack.
The violence claimed the lives of two men, a four-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl, all residents of the United States commonwealth, a spokesman said. Five South Korean tourists and a four-year-old local girl were wounded.
Police said the attacker first took aim inside the shooting range in the community of Kannat Tabla, killing two men in their early 20s and the two children. A four-year-old girl was critically injured with a gunshot wound to the chest.
About 11:30am, shortly after the first attack, the suspect began firing a rifle from a white van at a group of South Koreans visiting a World War II site in nearby Marpi. Police said they do not believe the shooter was specifically targeting tourists in what was termed a "random drive-by shooting."
Authorities said the suspected shooter was a contract worker in his 30s or 40s from Asia, but did not provide his name or home country. However, several residents said the man was known as "Mr Lee."
Suicide note
The Pacific News Center identified the gunman as Lee Zhong Ren, an employee at the shooting range. The news station also reported that Lee left behind a suicide note that spoke of a business deal gone bad.
Saipan is the main island of the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which has about 60,000 residents and is about 6,100 kilometers southwest of Hawaii. Saipan is a popular tourist destination for South Koreans, with more than 111,000 visiting the island in 2008, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority.
South Korea is the second largest market for the commonwealth, behind Japan.
The shootings created confusion and fear as authorities locked down schools and police spread out investigating the crime scenes.
The suspect was last spotted driving toward Banzai Cliff, the site where an untold number of Japanese jumped to their deaths in 1944 after the Battle of Saipan. When police officers arrived in the area, witnesses reported a man was shooting a rifle in the area.
Police discovered his van and recovered three rifles inside the vehicle.
Officials said the gunman's body was found along the edge off the cliff line near the vehicle with a .22-caliber rifle strapped around his shoulder.
Police at the shooting range discovered four bodies next to each other, and the young girl who survived the first attack.
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