Finnish School Shooter Dies

World | November 8, 2007, Thursday // 00:00
Finnish School Shooter Dies A video posted on YouTube has been linked to the massacre at a Finnish school, in which seven have been reported killed. Photo by YouTube.com

An 18-year-old, who shot eight people inside his high school in southern Finland, before turning the gun on himself, has died, CNN reported, citing the police.

The shooting appeared to have been planned out in graphic videos posted on Internet file-sharing site YouTube.

At a news conference police confirmed the dead numbered two girls, five boys and the school's headmistress at Jokela High in Tuusula, a quiet town around 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Helsinki.

Ten other people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

The shooter, whom police identified as Pekka Eric Auvinen, died at Toolo Hospital, authorities said. Police said he took his own life.

It was the first school shooting in Finland since 1989, when a 14-year-old student shot and killed two others in the coastal town of Rauma, the Finnish news agency STT reported.

Police said Auvinen is from Tuusula and who acted alone. He had no previous criminal record and had never threatened anyone from the school before, they added.

The Finnish government declared Thursday a day of mourning for the school shooting victims. All flags on public buildings in Finland are flying at half-staff.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!

World » Be a reporter: Write and send your article

Advertisement
Advertisement
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria