Shooter Matti Juhani Saari killed eight women, two men,himself

A 22-year-old gunman who opened fire at a trade school in Finland murdered eight women and two men.

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 Associated Press reported.

The bureau said Matti Juhani Saari also wounded an additional female student before shooting himself in the head.

Investigators said the gunman set fires in the school which seriously burned the victims of yesterday's massacre.

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said an inquiry had been opened into why police failed to prevent the massacre even though they had questioned Saari 24 hours before it happened.

"There is an investigation regarding the last few days before the shooting," Mr Vanhanen said.

He did not specify who was conducting the investigation.

The Prime Minister was speaking during a visit to Kauhajoki, the small town in southwestern Finland where the massacre took place.

Just hours after the massacre Finland's Interior Minister Anne Holmlund revealed that police had questioned Saari on Monday about a video posted on YouTube that showed him shooting his weapon at a firing range, but police had not deemed him enough of a threat to withdraw his gun licence.

"It appears the police reacted immediately and met this young man but we don't know what information they had and the reason why his licence was not withdrawn," Mr Vanhanen said.

He reiterated comments made yesterday that Finland planned to strengthen its gun control laws after the country's second school shooting in less than a year.

"We will take a decision regarding a new law in a few months. We have had a very long tradition" of gun ownership, he said.

Finland has one of the world's highest gun ownership rates, ranking third behind the United States and Yemen according to a study last year.

Mr Vanhanen said the country was in the process of implementing a new European Union directive it had previously contested preventing 15-year-olds from possessing guns.

"Finland will raise (the age for gun ownership) from 15 to 18," he said, before adding: "But in this case it would not have (made a difference) because this guy was 22."

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Shooter
• Matti
• Juhani
• Saari
• killed
• eight
• women
• two
• men
• gun
• gunman
• cho
• 10
• you
• will
• die
• next
• dead
• Finland
• shoot
• shot
• shooting
• kill
• crazy
• hell
• sick
• 11
• ten
• eleven

[HarboeDrinker]

"You raped my soul, my heart turned cold

life seemed cruel, and I felt old

escape was the only choice I had

but i took you with me, so they called me mad"

[SODihminen]

@MrJuha82 Sun kannattas hankkia ystäviä ei millään pahalla mutta elämä on mukavampaa jos on ystäviä :)

[1tvar]

RIP Matti Juhani Saari & his victims!

[jandep100]

aika idiootti toi Matti Juhani Saari

[MrJuha82]

@miiri97 jotkut ihmiset on vaan paskoja/turhia....

[miiri97]

MrJuha82 oot ihan oikees muakin kiusataan koulus ja sitä on tosi vaikeeta olla välittämättä

[Moonsorrow15]

Didn't beat Cho though

Sorry Matti

[Pasi1000100]

NO VOI VITTU EN SAA MITÄÄ SELVÄÄ MITÄ TOI SANOO KU PUHUTAA PASKASTI PÄÄLLE

[Pasi1000100]

Liian myöhää tullu amerikkaa tieto

[Pasi1000100]

kajajoki IHA SURKEESTI SANO SEN IHANNIINKU JOTAIN JAPANII EIKÄ SUOMEE KU SANO SEN SILLEE

[Hyardacil]

It's very peculiar seeing people here saying that he is a hero.

Odd that people are so willing to look up to psychopaths. Fascinating.

Like little sheeplets they line behind anyone who seems strong enough, no matter how warped the ideals and how self-desctructive the ideas that pollute their minds. It is no wonder that so many psychopaths function perfectly well in society. Humans are oddly self-harming creatures.