SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands — The Pacific resort island of Saipan was reeling today from one of the most violent attacks in its history, when a gunman killed five people, including two small children and himself.
The dead included two men, a 4-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl, all residents of the U.S. commonwealth, said Public Safety spokesman Jason Tarkong. Six people were wounded.
Police said the attack began Friday in a shooting range. Two men in their 20s and the kids died.
Later, the suspect began firing a rifle from a white van at a group of South Korean tourists. He shot himself near a cliff where Japanese men, women and children plunged to their deaths to avoid capture during World War II.
Authorities said the suspect was a contract worker in his 30s or 40s from Asia. The Pacific News Center identified the gunman as Lee Zhong Ren, an employee at the shooting range.
