Finnish Man Blows Up Courtroom

A Finnish man blew himself up in court Monday as judges were giving their ruling in a dispute over a will in which he was a party, police said.

The man detonated the bomb, killing himself and injuring seven other people.

The bomb exploded just before noon at a local court in Hamina, 90 miles east of Helsinki. Police declined to say whether the man intended to commit suicide and his relation to the court case was immediately clear. Authorities would not reveal his identity and described only as being in his 50's.

"In the middle of the judge's reading of the court's decision, the man exploded the bomb," Hamina Chief Superintendent Kimmo Pekkala said.

In response to the incident, Interior Minister Jan-Erik Enestam said courtroom security would be tightened. "We could not prepare for something like this beforehand. It's the first time that something like this has happened," he said. "Without doubt, we are going to take steps to improve security. We shall have to install metal detectors."