Ugly: 'Several' die in gun rampage at Finnish college - Merged

[Sejune]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26849077

HELSINKI, Finland - A male student shot dead several people at a college in Finland on Tuesday, local authorities said.

The shooting spree occurred in the town of Kauhajoki, about 180 miles northwest of Helsinki. According to local reports, there were about 200 people in the building when the 20-year-old student started shooting "around himself".

Kauhajoki Mayor Antti Rantakokko told Reuters that "several" were killed in the rampage.

The Associated Press reported that police said they had disarmed the gunman. Superintendent Jussi Muotio of the Kauhajoki police confirmed that the incident was over and said police did not know if anyone had been killed.

Finnish television channel YLE said a teacher witnessed at least 10 people being shot. It also reported that one college worker spotted a man wearing a ski mask carrying a large bag enter the building before the shooting began.

Jarkko Sipila, a journalist with MTV3 News, told CNN that there was a fire burning in the building where the rampage occurred and that police had confirmed several people were injured. He said the college catered for students aged 16 and older.

Kari Saarinen, chief physician at Senajoki Hospital, about 40 miles from Kauhajoki, said hospitals in the area were on full emergency alert.

'Peaceful place'
He added that he was unsure about the number of victims, but believed there were several — some wounded, some dead.

Speaking to the BBC, Finnish journalist Timo Huowinan described Kauhajoki as a "peaceful place where you could never believe something like this would happen".

The shootings occurred almost a year after a gunman killed eight people and himself at a school in southern Finland.

Kauhajoki is a municipality of 14,000 people located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Cupcake]

After a shooting that happened a year ago in finland...Just thought the age to buy a firearm was interesting.

After Auvinen's rampage, the government said it would raise the minimum age for buying guns from 15 to 18

[goldshellback]

One peturbed 20 year old.............

Anytime, AND anywhere

[David in FL]

A little research into Finnish gun laws.......


The ownership and use of firearms is regulated by the Firearms Act of 1998.

Firearms can only be obtained with an acquisition license, which can be applied for at the local police for €32. A separate license is required for each individual firearm and family members can have parallel licenses to use the same firearm. According to law, the firearms must be stored in a locked space or otherwise locked, or with vital parts removed and separated. Even then the weapon or any of its separated parts must not be easily stolen. If an especially dangerous firearm or more than 5 pistols, revolvers or self-loading rifles or other-type firearms are being stored, they must be stored in a certified gun safe or in a secure space inspected and approved by the local police authority.

They may be carried only when they are transported from their place of storage to the place of use (shooting range, hunting area or such). Even then they must be unloaded and concealed or kept in carrying pouches. Aside from law enforcement agents and military personnel, only security guards with closely defined working conditions, special training and a permit are allowed to carry a loaded gun in public places. The ownership of air-rifles is not regulated but carrying or firing them in public places is not permitted. A crossbow is paralleled to an air rifle in legal matters.

To obtain a firearms license, an individual must declare a valid reason to own a gun. Acceptable reasons include hunting, sports or hobby shooting, profession related, show or promotion or exhibition, collection or museum, souvenir, and signalling. It is worth noticing that self- or home defence are not considered valid reasons. The applicant must provide evidence supporting the acquisition license application to prove that he or she is actually using firearms for the stated purpose(s). Such proof may consist of written declarations from other license holders as referees, shooting diaries or certificates from a shooting club.[2]


For the life of me......with laws like this on the books, I can't figure out how something like this ever happened!

[ccw9mm]

To obtain a firearms license, an individual must declare a valid reason to own a gun.

It is worth noticing that self- or home defence are not considered valid reasons.

For the life of me......with laws like this on the books, I can't figure out how something like this ever happened!

As is obvious to us, with laws like this on the books, it's patently clear it could not go any other way.

For the lives of the Finns, the people and their politicians will need to square with the reality at some point. If the preservation of innocent life isn't a valid reason, they're already at the mercy of criminals. (Not unlike a few places in the U.S., based on the same rationale.)

[JonInNY]

UPDATE

At least nine dead in Finnish college shooting

Police say the shooter was a student, no motive established
Shooter tried to kill himself but was not successful, official said

At least nine dead in Finnish college shooting - CNN.com

[kohburn]

Acceptable reasons include:
-hunting
-sports or hobby shooting
-souvenir

but home defense is not an acceptable reason? this is some of the most backwards thinking i've ever seen.

[ccw9mm]

but home defense is not an acceptable reason? this is some of the most backwards thinking i've ever seen.

That's essentially the hurdle faced by everyone in a might-issue state, in the U.S. Amazing, that anyone could think preservation of innocent life doesn't qualify. Seems to me it's the entire point of the exercise.

[flagflyfish]

Suspected Gunman Was Questioned Before Shooting Massacre at Finnish School




HELSINKI, Finland — A gunman opened fire at a vocational school for adults in western Finland on Tuesday before shooting himself, police said. Finnish media reported nine people were killed and the gunman died later at the hospital from his injuries.

The shootings began just before 11 a.m. local time as about 150 students went to class in Kauhajoki, 180 miles northwest of Helsinki. Witnesses said panic broke out as the hooded gunman entered the school and began firing.

"Within a short space of time I heard several dozen rounds of shots, in other words it was an automatic pistol," school janitor Jukka Forsberg told broadcaster YLE. "I saw some female students who were wailing and moaning and one managed to escape out of the back door."

Finland's interior minister said the shooter was questioned by police a day before the massacre but released.

Anne Holmlund says the gunman was detained for questioning on Monday about YouTube postings in which he is seen firing a handgun. She says police released him because they had no legal reason to keep him detained.

She says the man used a 22-millimeter caliber handgun in Tuesday's attack. Holmlund says he got the license for the gun in August.


Geez!!!! A automatic 22-millimeter handgun!!! That's gotta have some recoil!! I guess the media is screwy worldwide.

[Slabsides45]

Geez!!!! A automatic 22-millimeter handgun!!! That's gotta have some recoil!!

[BkCo1]

Strict gun control works again. Lots of soft targets.

Semper Fi

[Rob99VMI04]

Suspected Gunman Was Questioned Before Shooting Massacre at Finnish School




HELSINKI, Finland — A gunman opened fire at a vocational school for adults in western Finland on Tuesday before shooting himself, police said. Finnish media reported nine people were killed and the gunman died later at the hospital from his injuries.

The shootings began just before 11 a.m. local time as about 150 students went to class in Kauhajoki, 180 miles northwest of Helsinki. Witnesses said panic broke out as the hooded gunman entered the school and began firing.

"Within a short space of time I heard several dozen rounds of shots, in other words it was an automatic pistol," school janitor Jukka Forsberg told broadcaster YLE. "I saw some female students who were wailing and moaning and one managed to escape out of the back door."

Finland's interior minister said the shooter was questioned by police a day before the massacre but released.

Anne Holmlund says the gunman was detained for questioning on Monday about YouTube postings in which he is seen firing a handgun. She says police released him because they had no legal reason to keep him detained.

She says the man used a 22-millimeter caliber handgun in Tuesday's attack. Holmlund says he got the license for the gun in August.


Geez!!!! A automatic 22-millimeter handgun!!! That's gotta have some recoil!! I guess the media is screwy worldwide.

Thats close to .88 Caliber. Wow thats big.

[uakaos]

I just read this story in my email a few min ago. Crazy!
Released hours before he shot the place up. horrible

[rhinokrk]

"Finland deaths spark gun law call"

link

Finland's prime minister has called for gun laws to be tightened after a school shooting that left 11 people dead.

Matti Vanhanen said he believed handguns should no longer be used outside shooting ranges.

Matti Juhani Saari shot fellow students at a college in western Finland before turning his gun on himself.

It emerged that he had been questioned by police after posting on the internet a video clip of himself at a shooting range, but had not been detained.

Mr Vanhanen told Finnish television: "We have to tighten the law significantly.

"In terms of handguns that can easily be carried about, we have to think about whether they should be available for private people. In my opinion, they belong on shooting ranges."

Tuesday's shooting echoed another in November last year in the town of Tuusula, which left eight people and the lone gunman dead.

Both gunmen had valid licences.

Although Finland said it would consider new laws after that attack, no changes have been made and 15-year-olds can still own guns.

The country has a long tradition of hunting and weapons-bearing, with about 1.6 million firearms in private hands - third in the world behind only the US and Yemen, studies say.

Mr Vanhanen said: "The question is what kind of guns should be available with a licence. After these incidents, we have to discuss whether handguns should be legal."

Questions will also be raised about the police handling of the case and the role of the internet.

Saari, 22, was questioned on Monday but police said the videos "did not threaten anyone" directly.

Mr Vanhanen said authorities would also look at whether there needed to be changes in internet monitoring.

Matti Vanhanen
Matti Vanhanen vowed to look at gun and internet laws

He said: "The internet and YouTube forums... are not another planet. This is part of our world and we adults have the responsibility to check what is happening, and create borders and safety there."

Saari posted several videos. One, which emerged on Tuesday, showed him saying to the camera "you will die next", followed by three gun shots.

Police said they had found a note in Saari's flat explaining his actions.

The head of the police investigation, Jari Neulaniemi, said: "In the note he said he hated mankind and the human race. And that he had been planning this since 2002."

Mr Neulaniemi said nine victims were found in one classroom. Another was discovered injured in a corridor and later died in hospital.

Saari shot himself in the head. He also died in hospital.

The attack in Kauhajoki, some 330km (205 miles) north of the capital, Helsinki, started just before 1100 local time (0800 GMT).

Saari, dressed in black and wearing a ski mask, was seen entering the building with a large bag.

School caretaker Jukka Forsberg told AFP news agency that two girls had told him a man was shooting.

"I saw a guy leaving a big black bag in the corridor and going into classroom number three and closing the door," he said.

"I looked through the window and he immediately shot at me... Thank God I was not hit, he fired at me but I was running zigzag. I ran for my life."

Mr Vanhanen has declared Wednesday a day of national mourning.

[ccw9mm]

It comes to this: a criminal willing to ignore laws against murder won't be fazed by a law regarding victim disarmament. Net result? Only the upstanding citizens will be disarmed.