9 Slain At Finnish School After Web Threat
An 18-year-old gunman killed eight people at a high school in southern Finland on Wednesday, then shot himself, police said. The incident came just hours after a video posted on YouTube predicted a massacre at the school. A hospital official said the gunman died of his wounds later that night.
Police said they had the situation "under control" after they surrounded Jokela High School in Tuusula, some 30 miles north of the capital, Helsinki.
The school's principal was among those killed, according to police.
An Internet video posted Tuesday on YouTube predicted a massacre at Jokela High School, reports Britain's Sky News.
The video shows a still photo of a school that looks like Jokela, which then shatters into many pieces to reveal a tinted red image of a man pointing a gun at the camera.
The video is titled "Jokela High School Massacre - 11/7/2007", and was posted by someone using the name Sturmgeist89, which means "storm spirit", according to Sky.
Associated Press Television News found a second video, originally posted by the same user, titled, "Shooting in Finland Jokela's high school".
The video shows a man resembling the individual in the "massacre" clip shooting target practice with a handgun. The video is shot in a wooded area and there is snow on the ground. After taking a number of shots at what appears to be apples, the shooter walks past the camera, smiles and waves.
The person who posted the videos was identified in their user profile as an 18-year-old man from Finland. Sky News reports that police have confirmed the man behind Wednesday's shooting was the same person who posted the videos on YouTube. CBS News could not independently verify that claim.
The postings were later removed.
It was the first known school shooting in Finland, where gun ownership is fairly common by European standards, but shootings are rare.
Kim Kiuru, a teacher at the school, said the principal announced over the public address system just before noon that all students should remain in their classrooms.
"I stayed in the corridor to listen to more instructions having locked my classroom door," Kiuru told the YLE radio station.
"After that I saw the gunman running with what appeared to be a small-caliber handgun in his hand through the doors toward me after which I escaped to the corridor downstairs and ran in the opposite direction."
Kiuru said he saw a woman's body as he fled the building.
"Then my pupils shouted at me out of the windows to ask what they should do and I told them to jump out of the windows ... and all my pupils were saved," Kiuru said.
More than 400 students, ages of 12 to 18, were enrolled at Jokela, said Heidi Hagman, assistant to the Tuusula municipality director.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen described the situation as "extremely tragic" and said the government would hold an emergency meeting.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Police said they had the situation "under control" after they surrounded Jokela High School in Tuusula, some 30 miles north of the capital, Helsinki.
The school's principal was among those killed, according to police.
An Internet video posted Tuesday on YouTube predicted a massacre at Jokela High School, reports Britain's Sky News.
The video shows a still photo of a school that looks like Jokela, which then shatters into many pieces to reveal a tinted red image of a man pointing a gun at the camera.
The video is titled "Jokela High School Massacre - 11/7/2007", and was posted by someone using the name Sturmgeist89, which means "storm spirit", according to Sky.
Associated Press Television News found a second video, originally posted by the same user, titled, "Shooting in Finland Jokela's high school".
The video shows a man resembling the individual in the "massacre" clip shooting target practice with a handgun. The video is shot in a wooded area and there is snow on the ground. After taking a number of shots at what appears to be apples, the shooter walks past the camera, smiles and waves.
The person who posted the videos was identified in their user profile as an 18-year-old man from Finland. Sky News reports that police have confirmed the man behind Wednesday's shooting was the same person who posted the videos on YouTube. CBS News could not independently verify that claim.
The postings were later removed.
(CBS)
Kim Kiuru, a teacher at the school, said the principal announced over the public address system just before noon that all students should remain in their classrooms.
"I stayed in the corridor to listen to more instructions having locked my classroom door," Kiuru told the YLE radio station.
"After that I saw the gunman running with what appeared to be a small-caliber handgun in his hand through the doors toward me after which I escaped to the corridor downstairs and ran in the opposite direction."
Kiuru said he saw a woman's body as he fled the building.
"Then my pupils shouted at me out of the windows to ask what they should do and I told them to jump out of the windows ... and all my pupils were saved," Kiuru said.
More than 400 students, ages of 12 to 18, were enrolled at Jokela, said Heidi Hagman, assistant to the Tuusula municipality director.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen described the situation as "extremely tragic" and said the government would hold an emergency meeting.
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There has also been a massive black market on guns being sold..
In America, Australia, Canada, NZ etc the people have had guns since they could get guns, and it is only since TV became violent that we have had the problem, it is now made worse because mothers put their children into day care centers 5 days a week 9 hrs a day, and the fact that people cant smack their children when they are naughty, plus solo mums.. We are not teaching our children self discipline and love any more, parents don''t have time to give their children love, they are to busy working, or doing their own thing.. etc..
We never had these problems 40 years ago..see the evidence from Australia since guns have been taken off the people in what I said back one or two pages.
1) Where does that stat come from?
2) But for the most part, yobbos don''t have guns so they usually inflict injury on one person at a time, not in multiples like you can with a poor little abused gun!!
So make them legal and the criminals and terrorists won''''t have guns???
Posted by rudy654 at 02:28 AM : Nov 08, 2007
You''re not as dumb as a post,I think you are dumber than your post.
Has there been a rush of church closings that I missed? Is that why you lament the fact that public schools aren''''t used as dogma factories?
Posted by formrusmcsgt at 09:35 PM : Nov 07, 2007
How old are you?
Posted by USBrit at 08:44 AM : Nov 08, 2007
Your chances of getting violently assaulted in England or Scotland are far more likely than in the USA
The really sad part of this story is not a one of your running off at the MOUTH about guns will ever admit that evil was done at this school and that only God can help you. All of the manmade therapy in the world will only go so far and simply put, bad things happen in a bad world and we either learn to cope with it and make it better or run off at the MOUTH about it.
Posted by jowand
"So make them legal and the criminals and terrorists won''t have guns???"
Posted by rudy654
No rudy654, make them legal and the innocent civilians who are targeted by criminals and terrorists will have the ability to protect themselves without having to rely on the police who are many minutes away. Terrorists and other criminals love defenseless victims, that''s why they knew they could hijack planes on 9/11 using BOX CUTTERS.
Self Defense
www.a-human-right.com