Iranian man murders seven members of wife’s family

Gunman in southwestern city of Dezful then turns gun on himself, but apparent suicide attempt fails

By AP and ToI Staff 31 March 2019, 3:16 pm

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Illustrative image of a gun and bullets. (A gun and bullets via Shutterstock)

An Iranian man shot and killed seven members of his wife’s family, state media reported on Sunday.

The man opened fire on his relatives late Saturday in the southwestern city of Dezful using a Kalashnikov assault rifle, according to state organ IRNA.

Another outlet, the Mehr news agency, said four people had also been wounded in the shooting.

There was no immediate report on the motive behind the shooting, which claimed the lives of five men and two women.

The shooter, who has not been identified by officials, attempted to kill himself after the attack, officials said, but survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was hospitalized.

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His condition is not immediately known.

Shootings are rare in Iran, where citizens are only allowed to own hunting rifles.

The incident is the first such shooting in Iran since January 2017, when a gunman shot and killed five people in the city of Arak, just a month after a man in a southern rural region of Iran shot and killed 10 family members.