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)
