CLASS GUN SUSPECT... AGED 12
One child dead and two hurt in Finland shooting rampage
BY JEREMY ARMSTRONG
ONE child died and two others were seriously injured in a school gun rampage in Finland yesterday.
A boy aged 12 was wrestled to the ground in the street by two police officers, a weapon lying beside him.
Shots rang out and screams were heard at Viertola school in Vantaa, 12 miles north of the capital Helsinki.
One victim died instantly and the wounded pair were rushed to hospital.
They were all said to be the boy’s classmates, but no further details were released as relatives were informed.
Armed police surrounded the school as terrified children texted their parents. Many arrived within minutes, queuing up outside as long lines of police carried out a search of the site.
Anja Hietamies, the mother of an 11-year-old, received a message from her daughter after the shooting. “They were in a dark, locked classroom, not allowed to speak on the phone but they could send messages,” she said.
The victims were all aged 12. Parents said they were shot in a classroom. Those queueing outside were allowed to see their children at around noon.
SCREAM
Police arrived within nine minutes of the shooting as the suspect made off on foot. He was detained 40 minutes after the incident at 9.17am.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said he was “deeply shocked”.
A witness who heard shots told the Iltalehti newspaper: “At first I didn’t understand it was a weapon. Then a terrible scream could be heard and children ran across the yard.”
In addition to 800 students aged seven to 15, about 90 staff work at the school.
They had just returned after the Easter holidays. The child suspect was detained “in a calm manner” about three miles away in Siltamaki.
A video taken from a passing car showed him being pinned down at the roadside. He admitted carrying out the shooting in an interview, police added.
Authorities are investigating a murder and two attempted murders but under 15s are not criminally liable in Finland. The suspect, who allegedly used a gun licensed to a relative, was placed in the care of social services.
Gun ownership is widespread in Finland and children over 15 are allowed permits to use other people’s guns.
In 2007, Pekka-eric Auvinen, 18, shot and killed six students, two staff and himself at Jokela High School, near Helsinki.
In 2008, Matti Saari, 22, opened fire at a college in Kauhajoki, killing nine fellow students and one staff member before shooting himself.
National police chief Seppo Kolehmainen said in Vantaa yesterday: “Together, we thought that as a society we would have learned from previous school shootings. Such a day should not have happened.”