Man kills five in central Iran shooting rampage Published duration 11 January 2017

A man has shot dead at least five people and wounded four others in Iran in an apparent act of revenge.

The 26 year old opened fire at two houses in the central city of Arak.

The Isna news agency cited a local prosecutor as saying the man was a murder suspect on bail and that he first targeted the family of a police officer who had arrested him last year.

The man then went to the home of the person he was accused of murdering and shot his parents, the prosecutor added.

The shooter is still believed to be on the run. But his brother, who allegedly accompanied him on the rampage, has reportedly been arrested.

Earlier, state television also reported that two families had been attacked but that the shooter was a prisoner convicted on drugs charges who was on leave. It was not immediately possible to clarify the contradiction.

Gun violence of this kind is rare in Iran, where civilians are only allowed to own hunting rifles.