Not a Terrorist Act': Soldier Opens Fire on Fellow Troops in Tunis Barracks, Killing Seven

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A Tunisian soldier opened fire on fellow troops at a military barracks in the capital Monday, killing seven people before he was himself killed, a spokesman for Tunisia's Defense Ministry said.

Tunisian soldiers stand guard outside the Bouchoucha army barracks in Tunis on May 25, 2015 after a soldier opened fire at his colleagues. A Tunisian soldier killed some of his comrades and wounded others in a shooting at the barracks near parliament but it was not a 'terrorist' attack, the interior ministry said. (Fethi Belaid/AFP/Getty Images)

Belhassen Oueslati said 10 others were injured in the shooting, including one person who was in a serious condition.

He described the incident as an "isolated act, not a terrorist act" and said the motive will be determined by an investigation.

Police reinforcements were sent to the area after the shooting, combing nearby streets, while a helicopter circled overhead. The Defense Ministry said a nearby school was also evacuated.

Tunisian soldiers and policemen stand guard outside the Bouchoucha army barracks in Tunis on May 25, 2015 after a soldier opened fire at his colleagues. (Fethi Belaid/AFP/Getty Images)

Authorities sought to calm the public in a city where tensions remain high after an attack on the National Bardo Museum on March 18 that killed 22 people, mostly foreign tourists. The shooting at the Bouchoucha barracks was about a kilometer from the museum.

Oueslati said the situation was under control by mid-morning.

A member of Tunisian special forces stands guard outside the Bouchoucha army barracks in Tunis on May 25, 2015 after a soldier opened fire at his colleagues. (Fethi Belaid/AFP/Getty Images)

He said the soldier had been forbidden from carrying a weapon after displaying "troubled behavior due to family problems" and had seized another man's weapon for the attack.

Since overthrowing its secular dictator in in 2011, Tunisia has been battling militant groups with links to the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, which have carried out attacks on security forces.