Pekka-Eric Auvinen, a teenager and attending Jokela High School in Tuusula, southern Finland, yesterday opened fire at his school killing eight people, including the school principal, before turning the gun on himself, has died in the hospital later that day. Eighteen years old Auvinen, shot himself in the head after killing five boys, two girls and one adult woman who turned out to be the head teacher.

Police said the gunman shot the victims with a .22-calibre pistol. About a dozen other people were injured as they tried to escape what is believed to be the first fatal shooting in a Finnish school.

Kim Kiuru, a teacher at the school, said that just before noon that day of the shooting, the headteacher announced over the public address system that all students should remain in their classrooms. Kiuru recounted the incident via a radio interview: Read the rest of this entry »