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Nation in brief

Three killed, including gunman, in shootings at Philadelphia strip malls

By wire services
Published October 8, 2005

PHILADELPHIA - A man fatally shot his ex-wife inside his car at a strip mall, then drove with the body to another shopping center parking lot where he shot and killed one of her friends before killing himself, police said.

An off-duty highway police officer saw the shooting of Alla Elkin, 23, shortly after 10 a.m. Friday in northeast Philadelphia, authorities said. The officer flagged down an on-duty motorcycle patrol officer, and the two followed 45-year-old Alexander Elkin in his red Mustang about a mile to another strip mall, where Elkin shot Irina Sulimova, 35, police said.

After an exchange of gunfire with the on-duty officer, Elkin got back into his car and shot himself in the head with an automatic pistol, police Inspector Carl Holmes said.

TIFTON, Ga. - A South Georgia mayor said Friday that he will continue flying a Mexican flag at City Hall for the six immigrant farmworkers slain in robberies - despite complaints from residents.

Seven people called a city radio station, saying the gesture was inappropriate and that the Mexican and U.S. flags should not fly together.

"I did that as an expression of sorrow to the Hispanic community," Mayor Paul Johnson said. "For those who we offended, I apologize, but I think it was the right thing to do."

The six men were killed during a crime rampage that authorities blame on a robbery gang that preyed on immigrants. Three people face first-degree murder charges.

PLANT EXPLOSION: Explosions rocked a plastics plant and injured 11 people in the latest of several fires and explosions at Texas industrial plants this year. The explosions Thursday at the Formosa Plastics Corp. facility in Port Comfort, Texas, also come less than two years after five of the company's workers were killed in a blast at its plant in Illiopolis, Ind.

CUSTARD LAWSUIT: A man who says he bit into a severed fingertip in a mouthful of chocolate custard has sued the dessert shop that served him, saying the experience left him with psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress. Clarence Stowers is seeking at least $10,000 in a lawsuit that names Kohl's Frozen Custard shop and the Carvel Corp., maker of the mixing machine an employee was using when his finger was severed.

[Last modified October 8, 2005, 01:27:10]