A sniper gunned down two journalists and a local council official outside a restaurant in Imatra, a small Finnish town near the Russian border, The Guardian reported Sunday. Police have arrested a 23-year-old man following the shooting, believed to be a random attack. The victims, two women in their early 50s and a third woman in her 30s, were gunned down shortly before midnight Saturday, Southeastern Finland Police Department spokesperson Heli Jamsen-Turkki told the British daily. She said the gunman did not resist arrest and the motive for the attack was unknown at this time. Imatra Mayor Pertti Lintunen told local media that Tiina Wilen-Jappinen, the local council's Social Democrat leader who was in her early 50s, was one of the victims. The names of the two journalists killed have yet to be released. "It looks like the victims were chosen at random," Detective Inspector Saku Tielinen told a news conference, adding that a political or religious motive seemed unlikely. She said the suspect was been detained on suspicion of murder. He has a criminal record, including violent incidents and theft. According to available details, the suspect drove to the scene around midnight on Saturday, took a hunting rifle from the trunk of his car and fired four or five shots at the women as they stepped out of the eatery. He then waited in the car until police arrived and accompanied officers silently and peacefully, police said. Imatra, 140 miles east of Finnish capital Helsinki, is home to just 28,000 people. "Finland is one of the safest countries in the world, but unfortunately acts like these are still possible even here," Prime Minister Juha Sipila said in a statement.
