A candlelight vigil at the scene of the shooting.

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Finnish man, 23, used a hunting rifle to shoot victims, police say

There's no evidence of political or religious motivation behind attack

CNN  — 

The leader of a town council and two journalists have been shot dead in an attack outside a restaurant in southeastern Finland, police said.

A 23-year-old Finnish man is believed to have killed the three women with a hunting rifle in the town of Imatra, Southeastern Finland police Sgt. Heli Jämsén-Turkki said. The suspect has been arrested.

Two of the women were in their 30s and the third was in her 50s, according to police, who did not immediately identify the victims.

Jämsén-Turkki said there was no evidence of any political or religious motivation behind the attack, which happened around midnight on Saturday.

The shooting took place outside a Finnish restaurant.

The sergeant added that given how quickly the shooting unfolded, the killer couldn’t have recognized his victims, leading police to believe this was a random attack.

CNN’s Lorenzo D’Agostino contributed to this report