Investigation of New Year's Eve mass murder continues
Questioning of witnesses and others continued over the weekend
The police investigation into last Thursday's horrific shooting incident in the Sello shopping mall in Espoo, in the course of which six people died, including the gunman Ibrahim Shkupolli, has continued over the weekend.
Police confirmed their earlier observations on the course of events, with the primary objective being to determine why Shkupolli would have killed first his former girlfriend and then four of her co-workers from the Prisma store in the shopping mall.
Police and others are convinced of the link between the separate killings of the girlfriend (at her home in the Leppävaara district of Espoo) and those of the three men and one woman at the nearby mall, since all evidence points to the fact that the gunman acted quite deliberately and selected his victims.
Whether the connection is merely one that the five persons all knew one another and were colleagues or whether there was some prior closer link is what the police wish to establish.
One possible line of enquiry is whether those in the store were involved in the gunman's earlier disturbances at Prisma.
He was under a restraining order forbidding his presence there, in addition to visits to his former girlfriend's home, following threats made against her person when their 18-year relationship broke down. Stalking and harassment of the victim by Shkupolli had apparently continued for some time.
Esa Grönlund, heading the investigation team for the National Bureau of Investigation, said on Sunday that nothing had thus far come out to indicate a change in the killer's behaviour immediately before the attack, or that anyone might have anticipated what occurred on Thursday morning.
One curious aspect that surfaced over the weekend was that according to some statements the killer and his ex-girlfriend had been seen together recently more than once, in spite of the restraining order that was in effect.
Nothing new emerged about Shkupolli's background over the weekend, although there have been rumours circulating that he had a military history.
The NBI are to take up the matter both in Finland and abroad today. Requests for information will be sent to Kosovo and other countries in the region.
The source of the handgun used by Shkupolli is also being investigated. The gunman did not have a licence to carry the firearm.
Equally, the police shed no further light on the way in which the ex-girlfriend was killed, save that it was by a blade rather than a gun.
There have also been unsubstantiated Internet claims that the "extremely brutal" slaying was of a ritual nature, but an earlier police comment that no violence appeared to have been committed on the victim's person before or after her death hinted that this may be mere rumour.
There are still a good many unresolved questions surrounding the murders, the NBI commented on Monday. A clear picture of the motive for the attack has not been established, although jealousy and revenge have been put forward.
The jealousy aspect was somewhat diluted by a statement on Monday by Det. Chief Insp Tero Haapala from the National Bureau of Investigation, disputing an earlier theory that the ex-girlfriend had found a new partner from her place of work, and that this might have triggered the shootings.
Haapala said that nothing had emerged in the investigations to substantiate this claim.
Police are still seeking observations from witnesses near the home of the former ex-girlfriend in Ruutikatu in Espoo, particularly on Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning, and of possible sightings of the killer Shkupolli after he had left the Sello shopping mall.
There is already enough information from eye-witnesses on what happened in the mall itself.
The Prisma store in the Sello mall in Leppävaara opened its doors again today at 9:00.
Staff gathered at 12:00 for a minute's silence to remember their colleagues who were killed on New Year's Eve.
Candles were lit for each of the five victims and a message of condolence and flowers sent personally by President Tarja Halonen was in evidence.
At 12:00, business stopped for a minute in all stores belonging to the S-Group, which owns the Prisma chain. Customers were also asked to take part in the brief moment of silent remembrance.
More on this subject:
 Espoo shooting: why was Ibrahim Shkupolli not deported?
Helsingin Sanomat
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