Four killed, two wounded in Marine Corps shooting spree

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES with more details)
SEOUL, July 4 (Yonhap) -- A Marine Corps corporal went on a shooting spree at a seaside unit on Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul, on Monday, killing four soldiers and wounding another, a military official said.
The 19-year-old shooter, identified only as Kim, was also injured in a separate incident after the shooting, other sources said.



Col. Kim Tae-eun, a spokesman for the Marine Corps, said the shootings took place at 11:50 a.m. inside the barracks of the Marine Corps unit on the southern part of the island, close to the maritime border with North Korea.
The victims were: Staff Sgt. Lee Seung-hoon, 25; Cpl. Lee Seung-ryeol, 20; Cpl. Park Chi-hyun, 21; and Lance Cpl. Kwon Seung-hyuk, 20.
Pvt. Kwon Hyuk, 19, was injured in the shooting. Col. Kim said the injuries to both Kwon and the shooter were not life threatening.



Col. Kim said officials were still trying to determine the motives behind the shooting. He said other soldiers who were at the barracks at the time of the shooting were still being questioned.
Col. Kim said the platoon to which these soldiers belonged has about 30 troops, but it wasn't clear how many of them were inside the barracks during the shooting spree.
Col. Kim said the shooter used a K-2 rifle, but it wasn't clear how many shots were fired. Kim said a guard in that unit typically loads 15 bullets in the magazine.
According to sources, the shooter later went inside a guard post and detonated a hand grenade in an apparent suicide attempt and sustained severe injuries. They said the shooter was still conscious, but his injuries are keeping him from answering questions about his motives.
Col. Kim confirmed that one hand grenade went off on the unit, but officials were still trying to determine the exact location.
"We believe the grenade was detonated outside the barracks," Kim said. "We think the shooter came out of the barracks and threw a grenade inside a structure. We don't know yet if the place is a guard post or a warehouse. No other person was present there."
Col. Kim said the injured soldiers were being taken to a military hospital and that the remains of three of the deceased have not yet been recovered from the Marine Corps unit. Family members of the three soldiers were on the way to the scene. Cpl. Park was pronounced dead at a hospital later, Kim added.
"We have to wait until the investigation makes some progress to find out more details," Col. Kim said. "Once the shooter is treated, our investigation will get under way in earnest."
In another high-profile case of a shooting rampage in the military, Army Pfc. Kim Dong-min tossed a hand grenade and opened fire at sleeping soldiers in a fit of anger toward abusive superiors in June 2005. He was later sentenced to death by a district Army court.
Col. Kim said Monday's shooting spree was the first incident of its kind in the Marine Corps "in recent years."