School gunman killed 8 women, 2 men: Police

Police yesterday released details about the victims of a school massacre in western Finland, saying eight women and two men were killed by the 22-year-old gunman.

They also confirmed the shooter was Matti Saari, a student at the school who was questioned by police a day before Tuesday's rampage about YouTube clips showing him firing a handgun. Saari was released on Monday because police said they found no reason to keep him in custody.

The National Bureau of Investigation said all the women were students, while one of the men was a teacher and the other a student. The bureau said Saari also wounded an additional female student before shooting himself in the head.

Identification of the victims has been complicated because the victims were badly burned by fires that Saari started during his killing spree at the vocational college in Kauhajoki, a town of 14,000 residents, 290 km northwest of Helsinki.

Police spokesman Urpo Lintula said Saari had acquired a permit for his weapon, a 0.22-caliber handgun, in August.

Police said they arrived at the scene within 10 minutes of receiving the alarm. The gunman fired several shots at the officers, but none of them was hit.

Strict gun control

Solemnly leading his country in a day of mourning, Finland's prime minister called for tighter gun laws yesterday as he visited the school.

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said it was time to consider restricting access to guns in a country with deeply held hunting traditions and over 1.6 million firearms in private hands. Finland ranks in the top five nations in the world when it comes to civilian gun ownership.

"After this kind of behavior, my personal opinion is that we need to study if people should get access to handguns so freely," Vanhanen said. "I'm very very critical about the guns and during next few months we will make a decision about it."

The rampage bore eerie similarities to another school massacre in Finland last year in which an 18-year-old gunman killed eight people and himself. Both gunmen posted violent clips on YouTube prior to the shootings.

Agencies

(China Daily 09/25/2008 page11)