Over eight people have been killed in a school shooting that
took place on Wednesday in Finland's southern city of Tuusula,
Finnish police confirmed on Wednesday evening.
Police evacuate
students following a shooting at the Jokela high school in Tuusula,
Finland, Wednesday, November 7, 2007.
Finnish police said at a press conference that the shooter took
his own life.?
The shooting took place in Jokela school in Tuusula, some 50 km
north of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Eight people have been
killed in the shooting. Among them, one is the schoolmaster, and
others are the school pupils. Several more have been injured.
Police confirmed that the shooter at the Jokela school took his
own life. He was armed with a handgun and killed himself after the
shooting.
The shooter, whom police identified as Pekka Eric Auvinen, died
at Toolo Hospital, authorities said.
Police said the shooter was an 18-year old high school male. He
shot inside the school building and also directed his fire towards
police.
The Jokela school building serves as an upper-level
comprehensive school and an upper level secondary school. The two
schools had?a total of?480 pupils.
According to local media report, references to an impending
attack in Jokela school have been found on the Internet. A video
clip called Jokela High School Massacre was posted on YouTube on
the internet?a day before?the shooting. The video begins
with a still image of the school and then shows a man pointing a
pistol at the camera.
Tuomas Hulkkonen, a member of the graduating class of the upper
level secondary school inside Jokela school building, said that
he?knew the gunman for 10 years, ever?since their lower
grades. Hulkkonen said that in recent days he had been acting
strange, drawing pictures involving firearms. He also said that the
suspected gunman's hobby?was?shooting.
Police officers are
seen in Tuusula, Finland, Wednesday, November 7, 2007 where a
teenager opened fire at a school in southern
Finland.
The Finnish government has convened for an emergency session
over the shooting, and Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen described the
situation as extremely deplorable.
The Finnish Red Cross has set up a hotline for those needing
help in dealing with the crisis.
(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2007)
