Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker AOAV Home / Gun violence / Guns: 15 mass shootings that changed the law Weapon: .22 LR Walther P22; homemade Molotov cocktails when the gunman entered a classroom where students where taking an exam and opened fire He then stepped into the corridor and loaded a new clip into his gun he shot the teacher and moved around the classroom shooting whenever he noticed someone made a sound or move One student survived despite being shot in the head The gunman then spread petrol on the classroom floor One student who had fled the burning classroom later died in the corridor Nine of them were classmates of the gunman and one was a member of staff The gunman remained for some time in the school grounds after it had been evacuated He was found alive by the police having shot himself in the head 62 bullets were found in the bodies of the victims[3] the gunman had delivered a personal firearm permit application for a Walther P22 pistol he intended to practice precision shooting and had joined the local shooting club this information was not correct as it later transpired that the fee the perpetrator had paid to the shooting club only entitled him to use the shooting range he was invited to a personal interview on 7 August 2008 after which he was granted a firearms purchase licence eight 10-round magazines and 1000 rounds of ammunition from an online shop[4] It transpired that the gunman had been suffering from mental health problems for 10 years prior to the shooting[5] Shortly before the shooting he was interviewed by the local police for uploading a video of himself on the internet firing a gun The officer concerned found no legal cause to arrest him or to revoke his firearm licence[6] In order to be granted an acquisition permit a person was required to declare a valid purpose for the use of the firearm ‘self-defence’ was not listed as an approved purpose[9] and the firearms were not to be ‘unnecessarily powerful or efficient’ relative to the use specified by the applicant[10] Within 30 days of the acquisition of the firearm the individual was required to apply for a possession permit.[11] The private possession of handguns and semi-automatic assault weapons was permitted under licence in some cases the private possession of fully automatic weapons was prohibited another mass shooting was made less likely in the future The investigating commission recommended that firearms capable of firing multiple shots in a very short period of time be made illegal, and that only guns with limited effective rates of fire be available for hobby purposes[14]. However, in preparing a new bill in August 2009, the government decided not to impose a complete ban on any particular type of firearm Did you find this story interesting? Please support AOAV's work and donate. Action on Armed Violence, 405 Mile End Road, London, E3 4PB. View map. +44 (0) 7984 645 145 AOAV is a registered charity © Copyright AOAV 2004-2025 All Rights Reserved Site design: builtbyleon.com We will email you breaking stories from Action on Armed Violence’s research. Your gift will help us research human rights violations in the Ukraine conflict. Witnesses said panic broke out at the Kauhajoki School of Hospitality, 180 miles northwest of Helsinki, as the masked gunman opened fire in a classroom during an exam. About 150 students were present, and at least two who were shot survived. A chilling YouTube video with a young man firing a pistol and warning “You will die next” had caught the eye of police, who questioned him but said they didn’t have enough evidence to hold him or seize his weapon. Finnish news media identified the gunman as Matti Juhani Saari, 22, a student at the school, which offers courses in catering, tourism, nursing and home economics. Police declined to identify him, saying he did not have a criminal record. Jari Neulaniemi, the officer leading the investigation, said the attacker was armed with a .22-caliber pistol. The gunman left two handwritten messages at a dormitory, saying he had planned the attack since 2002 and that he hated the human race, Neulaniemi said The rampage bore eerie similarities to a school massacre in Finland last year in which an 18-year-old gunman killed eight people and himself. Both men posted violent clips on YouTube before the shootings, both were fascinated by the 1999 Columbine school shootings in Colorado, both attacked their own schools, and both shot themselves in the head. Politics World & Nation California Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed teachers and officials were asking what more could have been done despite a flurry of initiatives following a shooting less than a year before at Jokela High School which killed eight Officials had described Finland's first major school shooting at Jokela high school last November as an isolated incident putting special student welfare teams into schools and colleges including at Kauhajoki's college for home and institutional economics - the location of the latest shooting "We already had the experience (of Jokela) and this time the help was available immediately," said Anita Lehikoinen director of higher education at the Finnish ministry of education "There were major efforts made to support schools and the school community and to help young people to feel safe in schools We also sent a letter to all the rectors of polytechnics and colleges to update their safety regulations and to pay special attention to student welfare." She insisted the college where the shooting took place was not to blame "The institution had taken all the action They had a multi-professional team of psychologists But still we saw this kind of tragedy take place," Lehikoinen said The government today announced extra financial help for the region community workers and even parish priests to reach out to young people Lehikoinen said even in higher education there was a close relationship between students and staff "There is always the question of whether there enough [welfare] services are available But at this institution we think this was not a problem "With multi-professional teams in place we think the help could have been there," Lehikoinen said about a third of Saari's time was spent in the workplace A recent European Union study said workplace bullying was more common in Finland than in any other EU country with Finns twice as likely to report harassment than workers in other European countries Bullying was also an issue in the case of Pekka-Eric Auvinen Meanwhile interior minister Anne Holmlund said the perpetrator was questioned by police the day before the shooting regarding videos posted in recent weeks on YouTube showing him firing a pistol but no further steps were thought to be necessary Holmlund said she would step up efforts to draft amendments in the country's firearms law "It goes without saying that one must analyse carefully what has happened and what sorts of changes may serve to prevent these kinds of situations from happening," Holmlund said Teachers and officials were searching for clues of a systemic problem in society as education minister Sari Sarkomaa and minister of health and social services Paula Risikko met in emergency session to discuss the Kauhajoki shooting Lehikoinen said the government would be looking at wider issues in society such as greater individualism and would look to fostering a spirit of community in schools and colleges "There is now a major emphasis in community-building in schools," she said cuts in funding for psychological services and social support in recent years were criticised and local level collaboration between support services had already increased since then "Jokela made teachers more sensitive to student problems In a very general way it made teachers more alert," said Jarkko Hautamäki professor of special education at the University of Helsinki "The present shooter is a young adult and so we cannot say the teachers are responsible," Hautamäki said "These are random encounters that cannot be prevented by any specific policy They are difficult to anticipate and to be able to monitor in any way." But media reports have stressed the rising use of the internet among young people and its pernicious influence of the Finnish Association of School Principals said: "There is a great deal of discussion Parents say our children are not out on the streets they are at home and we believed they were secure and young people are now unsafe even at home because of the internet?" Few answers were immediately evident as Finland was digesting the enormity of the latest shooting "Both the incident in Jokela and the present incident are very surprising to us It is very difficult to understand why young people should feel so miserable as to do such desperate acts," Hautamäki said "We have precise and very good plans of what to do in an emergency since the Jokela incident But these only tackle what is happening afterwards Teachers are discussing and wondering how do we tackle the problems before they occur," Lempinen said Home/Patient Care Finnish police have confirmed that the shooter in Tuesday’s school massacre in western Finland was questioned by police on Monday about YouTube clips showing him firing a handgun but was released because police found they had “no reason” to keep him in custody Nine students and one teacher were killed by 22-year-old gunman Matti Saari a student chef enrolled at a vocational collegein Kauhajoki a town of 14,000 residents located 180 miles northwest of Helsinki Saari also wounded an additional female student before shooting himself in the head Police spokesman Urpo Lintula said Saari entered the school dressed in black wearing a ski mask and carrying a large bag that held an automatic weapon plenty of ammunition and Molotov cocktail-type bombs designed to start fires Witnesses said the attacker roamed the corridors of Kauhajoki School of Hospitality for more than an hour zeroing in on a class that was taking an examination and setting off explosives that burned some of his victims beyond recognition Police arrived at the scene within 10 minutes of receiving the alarm but by the time they found and attempted to engage Saari he had already killed multiple students and set them on fire He fired at police and killed himself before they could return his fire Identification of the victims has been difficult because the victims were badly burned by the fires Saari started when about 150 students were at the Kauhajoki School of Hospitality Most of the school’s students are 18 to 25 years old Police report Saari left two handwritten messages at the school dormitory saying he had planned the attack since 2002 and hated the human race This school massacre was the second in less than a year in Finland with both attacks having eerie similarities Both gunmen posted violent clips on YouTube before the massacres both were fascinated by the 1999 Columbine High School shootings in Littleton both attacked their own schools and both killed themselves before police were able to reach them In one YouTube clip posted by a 22-year-old “Mr Saari,” a young man wearing a leather jacket fires several shots from a handgun in rapid succession at what appears to be a shooting range The posting was made five days before the shooting.and included a message saying “Whole life is war and whole life is pain And you will fight alone in your personal war.” Saari also posted three other clips of himself firing a handgun in the past three weeks Clips from the Columbine school shootings in Colorado were listed among his favorite videos Another clip shown by Scandinavian news media showed the alleged gunman pointing his gun to the camera and saying “You will die next” before firing four rounds Auvinen had also posted haunting videos of himself on YouTube in which he called himself a “natural predator.” One clip was titled “the Jokela High School Massacre” and showed a gunman pointing a pistol at the camera That shooting started a fierce debate about gun laws in the Nordic nation of 5.3 million people a nation that has deep-rooted hunting traditions “There are many of the same factors as a year ago: a lonely young man in the Internet world and then with access to a gun,” said Fredrik Almqvist a professor of child psychiatry at the University of Helsinki told the media that growing evidence shows the virtual world of the Internet can give some alienated youth a way to build an identity and copycat ideas for violent behavior Sources:1) USAToday.com. Finnish school shooter killed 8 women, 2 men.2) Chicagotribune.com. In Finland, 2nd school shooting is eerily similar Heightman comments:The school shootings in Finland should alert all public safety professionals to new patterns emerging in school shootings and terrorism Attacks are now being preceded by bold and obvious statements on sites such as YouTube that should alert law enforcement agencies to intercede before it’s too late It’s also clear that schools are in the sights of those who want to inflict fast unchallenged carnage on a large easy-to-access population organized terrorist groups have made it clear they plan on carrying out similar attacks on U.S schools (particularly middle schools where the size of the individuals presents little resistance and threat) http://usatoday.feedroom.com/index.jsp?fr_story=FRdamp301613 Footage of the scene and students escaping the school: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2008/sep/23/finland.school.shootings YouTube Clip (from Corrupt.org) Anti-Society Clip on YouTube (from Corrupt.org) JEMS.com Editor’s Note:Read David Becker’s article, “Is Your Agency Prepared for a School Shooting?” to gauge your preparedness level. A student chef in Finland killed 10 of his classmates in a suicidal shooting rampage at a vocational college Tuesday a day after police questioned him about violent videos he had posted on the Internet BERLIN — A student chef in Finland killed 10 of his classmates in a suicidal shooting rampage at a vocational college Tuesday It was the second school massacre to devastate the Scandinavian country in the past year Police said Matti Juhani Saari walked into a classroom and opened fire with a .22-caliber pistol the gunman roamed the corridors of Kauhajoki School of Hospitality for an hour stalking students and setting off explosives that burned some of his victims beyond recognition I started running for my life,” said Jukka Forsberg a janitor at the school in western Finland The attack ended when the gunman shot himself in the head and was declared dead a few hours later Police spokesman Jari Neulaniemi said the gunman left two handwritten messages saying he had planned the attack since 2002 had last week posted the YouTube videos in which he filmed himself firing a handgun at a shooting range and making threats “You will die next,” he said as he pointed the gun at the camera in one sequence Police said they questioned Saari Monday but allowed him to keep his gun because they didn’t have enough evidence to take action Police have not released the names or ages of the victims The attack was Finland’s second school massacre in less than a year and the two shootings had eerie similarities shot and killed eight others at Jokela High School Both Auvinen and Saari posted violent clips on YouTube before the massacres both were fascinated by the 1999 Columbine school shootings in Colorado both attacked their own schools and both died after shooting themselves in the head “One such incident could be a freak event professor of sociology at Helsinki University said Tuesday after the incident in Kauhajoki “There will be a discussion now on gun laws.” its residents are among the best-armed in the world because of the popularity of hunting and shooting sports Finland has a total of 1.8 million weapons outside of army use and 5.3 million people the third-highest rate in the world after the U.S European Union ministers approved gun legislation including stricter vetting on who can buy guns and a ban on the purchase of firearms by people under 18 A key aim was to prevent guns from getting into the hands of the mentally unstable chairwoman of the EU’s consumer-protection committee we tightened up the rules,” she said Tuesday Now the member states must “get on with implementing them,” and not wait until the 2010 deadline for their introduction across the EU Information from The Associated Press and Bloomberg News is included Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser 31.5.2024 12:30 Karhu Basket on solminut vuoden pelaajasopimuksen 25-vuotiaan takamiehen Andre Gustavsonin kanssa Gustavson on pelannut kuusi ottelua Susijengin paidassa Kaikki ikäluokat huomioiden Gustavson on pukenut maajoukkuepaidan ylleen sata kertaa 196-senttinen Gustavson on helsinkiläisen Wartti Basketin kasvatti Gustavson pelasi kaudet 2016-17 sekä 2017-18 divari A:ta HBA:n joukkueessa Kaudella 2017-18 Gustavson teki keskiarvoksi divarissa 11,6 pistettä Lisäksi hän riisti 1,5 kertaa 30 pelatussa ottelussa Kahden HBA:ssa pelatun kauden jälkeen Gustavson siirtyi pelaamaan yliopistokoripalloa NCAA:n puolelle Kouluna oli Richmond ja siellä Gustavson pelasi viiden kauden aikana yhteensä 140 ottelua Viimeisellä yliopistokaudella 2022-23 otteluita kertyi 33 ja peliaikaa tuli runsaat 29 minuuttia ottelua kohden Kakkoset upposivat 60 ja kolmoset 37,3 prosentin tarkkuudella Richmond Spiders pelaa NCAA:n ykköstasolla Kaudella 2021-22 Richmond voitti konferenssinsa ja eteni NCAA:n lopputurnauksessa toiselle kierrokselle Viime kausi (2023-24) jäi kokonaan väliin loukkaantumisen takia Kokonaisuudessaan visiitti USA:ssa kesti kuusi vuotta ja sinä aikana Gustavson luki itsensä maisteriksi asti Gustavson on pelannut tasan 100 maaottelua Niistä kuusi on tullut Susijengin kanssa ja pisteitä on syntynyt 4,3 per maaottelu Haastajamaajoukkueessa Gustavson on pelannut 13 maaottelua ja niissä pistekeskiarvon on 9,3 per ottelu Nuorten maaotteluita kertyi U16-U20-ikäluokissa yhteensä 81 ja 14 U20 maaottelussa pistekeskiarvoksi merkattiin 9,2 ottelua kohden - Andre tulee kuuden Yhdysvalloissa vietetyn vuoden jälkeen vähän ns tutkan ulkopuolelta monille Korisliigan seuraajille ja haluaa varmasti näyttää osaamisensa kun on vihdoin saanut terveysmurheet selätettyä Saamme joukkueeseen fiksun ja työteliään pelaajan josta IKH Areenan kotiyleisö tulee varmasti pitämään päävalmentaja Janne Koskimies kommentoi tuoretta pelaajasopimusta seuran tiedotteessa – Haluan kiittää Jannea ja koko Kauhajoen Karhubasketin organisaatiota tästä mahtavasta mahdollisuudesta edustaa todella ammattimaista ja voittavaa seuraa Olen täysin valmis ottamaan ensimmäiset askeleet ammattilaisena näin hienossa ympäristössä ja haluan osoittaa että pystyn auttamaan joukkuetta saavuttamaan sen asettamat tavoitteet ensi vuonna -Viimeiset kuusi vuotta olen viettänyt Richmondin Yliopistossa minkä aikana ehdin suorittamaan kandin sekä maisterin MBA-opinnot koripallon ohella Kuudesta vuodesta viisi ensimmäistä vuotta pelasin Richmond Spidersin paidassa voittaen konferenssimestaruuden vuonna 2022 Se mahdollisti meille mahdollisuuden pelata NCAA-lopputurnauksessa jossa pystyin auttamaan joukkuetta etenemään 32 parhaan joukkoon koko Yhdysvalloissa Pandemian takia minulla oli mahdollisuus pelata vielä yksi vuosi ja aloittaa maisteritutkintoni samalla Keväällä 2023 pelilupani umpeutuessa jäin yliopistoon vielä vuodeksi suorittamaan maisteritutkintoni loppuun - Kaudella 2023-2024 olin joukkueen kanssa koko vuoden mukana treenaamassa ja samalla valmistamassa joukkuetta apuvalmentajan roolissa että näin läheltä amerikkalaista huippuvalmennusta ja opin koripallon strategisista puolista enemmän sekä pystyin pysyä pelikunnossa ja valmistautua seuraavaan kauteen Olen täysin omistautunut ammattikoripalloon ja innolla valmis ottamaan haasteen vastaan was detained for questioning yesterday but released because police had no legal reason to hold him The gunman - who has not so far been named - used a .22 caliber handgun in today's attack which happened at the Kauhajoki Palvelualojen Oppilaitos vocational school She added that the man had received a license for the weapon last month identified as a student or former student at the school killed nine people before turning the weapon on himself "A cold-blooded shooter entered the building with an automatic pistol and started cutting down students," Jukka Forsberg the gunman was carrying an automatic weapon and wearing a ski mask as he entered the school I heard several dozen rounds of shots - in other words it was an automatic pistol," Forsberg told the broadcaster YLE "I saw some female students who were wailing and moaning and one managed to escape out of the back door." Police were continuing to evacuate the school buildings and there were five patrol groups at the site told Sky News that students had been about to begin an exam when the gunman opened fire The YouTube clip showed images of a man in a leather jacket firing shots from a handgun in rapid succession at what appeared to be a shooting range It was said to have been posted on the site five days ago and purportedly included a message that said: "Whole life is war and whole life is pain And you will fight alone in your personal war.'' The person who posted the clip identified himself as a 22-year-old with the name "Mr Saari" It is almost a year since nine people, including the gunman, died in a school shooting in the town of Tuusula the school nurse and the principal before shooting himself at the Jokela high school last November Finland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world after the US and Yemen according to the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies This article includes content provided by Spotify We ask for your permission before anything is loaded as they may be using cookies and other technologies the Finnish government said it would raise the minimum age for buying guns from 15 to 18 but insisted that significant changes to its gun laws were unnecessary in which he practises with a pistol on a shooting range has once again put the policies of the Google-owned website under the microscope Historically, YouTube has attempted to take a hands-off approach to clips posted on its website Except for in certain areas – such as videos featuring pornography graphic violence or hate speech – the site has adopted a pledge to take down material only after it is flagged as inappropriate by users defence under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act in YouTube's long-running legal battle with Viacom over its responsibilities regarding copyrighted content as the world's largest video website has become an accepted part of mainstream media it has increasingly come in for criticism for not being proactive about content relating to abuse YouTube was taken to task in the UK in July over its policing of the "dark side" of the internet media and sport committee report looking at harmful content on the internet In the US, YouTube has come under pressure from the independent senator Joseph Lieberman who argued that existing policy failed to capture scores of films from terrorist groups disseminating militant propaganda Last week, Google went further in the UK and Ireland, banning content that glamorises guns and knives in response to concerns over the role of gang videos in fuelling crime. The rule expressly bars YouTube users from "showing weapons in their videos with the express aim of intimidation". Open image viewerTen people were killed by a gunman at the Kauhajoki College of Hospitality in September 2008 Image: PoliisiYle News17.9.2020 12:39•Updated 17.9.2020 13:22The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the State of Finland committed a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights when Finnish authorities failed to take sufficient precautionary measures to protect citizens who became the victims of a school shooting On Tuesday, 23 September 2008, a 22-year-old man walked into his classroom at the College of Hospitality in Kauhajoki and opened fire. Ten people were killed - some died instantly the European Court of Human Rights found that Finnish authorities were derelict ensuring Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees everyone the right to life The court's finding was that although the authorities could not have been aware of an imminent threat to the victims confiscation of the weapon would have been a sensible and lawful precaution and failure to do so violated the duty of care The Finnish state has been ordered to pay compensation of 30,000 euros to the families of each victim and and an additional 7,000 euros per family to cover legal costs The European Court of Human Rights cannot change or overturn the decisions of a national authority or courts if a Member State is found to have violated human rights The families of the victims of the 2008 shooting took the case to the court in 2012 The families of the victims sought a charge of wilful misconduct and negligent homicide against the officer The Supreme Court did not grant leave to appeal Charges Dismissed in School Shooting CasePublished 20102010Sources: Yle at least raises the question of whether there is something about Finland's culture which might explain such tragedies When Times correspondent Robert Boyes dared to suggest this in the wake of Finland's 2007 Jokela high school shooting hundreds of Finns registered their fury at the alleged "insensitivity" and "stereotyping" in his article It is vital to tread carefully when trying to understand a culture and particularly one that various experts have claimed is a "shame culture" – one that is acutely sensitive to the perceptions of outsiders Finland is either portrayed as a forest-paradise or a dark wilderness teaming with alcoholic suicides But what is statistically true is that Finnish men are relatively violent Many Finns are inclined to blame this "violence" on the way in which Finnish men "cannot express their emotions" "We cannot express our feelings," claimed a teacher from Helsinki "If a man talks a lot he is seen as effeminate.. you're not allowed to talk about your problems "It's like we haven't got the tools to solve our problems with words but we are passionate deep inside and sometimes this comes out." A pensioner from southern Finland felt that the violence was "to do with hidden aggression in Finnish men" For a security guard from the north: "Finnish men have this violent passionate side that they're keeping down all the time" A Helsinki beautician described Finnish men as "very jealous.. And many Finns commented that wanting to be "alone" is more socially acceptable in Finland meaning that lonely people are often assumed to wish to be so For Finland-expert Tarja Laine this "low self-confidence" is due to "national low self-esteem" connected to Finland's rule by Sweden then Russia and then its heavy compliance with the Soviets as well as the influence of pietist religious groups there is also research indicating that Finland is particularly influenced by American culture and has very high gun ownership But being unemotional and tough was an important play for status and education has been another crucial way of gaining national self-esteem. VisitFinland.com declares that Finland is "the most educated country in the world" There are many reasons why two school massacres have occurred in Finland in two years but it should at least make us wonder if there is something in Finnish culture that might help to explain them any unpalatable assessment of their supposedly "unique culture" is always "stereotyping" and "biased" But many Finns that I have interviewed seem to think deeply about their small country and really want to make sense of the forest paradise's less comfortable side Dr Edward Dutton is currently researching a book on Finnish culture and religion A gunman opened fire Tuesday on students at a vocational school for adults in western Finland and then shot himself Finnish media reported that several people were killed The shootings began just before 11 am (0800 GMT) as about 150 students went to class in Kauhajoki 180 miles (300 kilometers) northwest of Helsinki Witnesses said panic broke out as a hooded gunman entered the school and opened fire An undated aerial view of the school where a shooting took place in Kauhajoki The suspect posted videos of himself on YouTube (0800 GMT) as about 150 students went to class in Kauhajoki (AP Photo/Santtu Hakala/ LEHTIKUVA / Santtu Hakala) Tue 23 Sep 2008 at 11:06Matti Saari was in police custody answering questions on Monday - 24 hours later ten people were dead The 22-year-old unleashed a killing spree at a college in the small provincial town of Kauhajoki in the west of Finland Saari arrived at the town's School of Hospitality the vocational college where he was a culinary arts student He walked into a class where an exam was in progress and opened fire and a short while later 10 students lay dead He then started two fires in the school before turning the gun on himself He failed to kill himself outright but yesterday evening died in hospital — dashing hopes that he might shed light on his motives was struggling to come to terms with its grief Finnish police said last night that the gunman left notes saying he hated humankind He left two handwritten messages at the school dormitory saying he had planned the attack since 2002 and that he hated the human race The gunman had also written that the solution was a Walther 22 referring to the .22-calibre pistol he used in the attack The disclosure that Finnish police had called Saari in for questioning on Monday came as the extent of the carnage in the college emerged The police had been acting on a tip-off that videos of Saari firing a gun at a range had been posted on the internet “Police reached him (Saari) on Monday 22 September,” Finland's Interior Minister Anne Holmlund admitted “and asked him to be interviewed regarding the shooting video.” Authorities checked his temporary pistol permit The police then let him go without taking any other action A YouTube page believed to have belonged to Saari has clips showing him shooting a .22 calibre automatic pistol at a firing range and naming videos from America’s Columbine school massacre as among his favourites One of the clips is believed to have been uploaded just five days before the atrocity In it the gunman — wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans — is seen shooting a handgun several times at an off-screen target In a different clip he is shown looking down at the camera and pointing a gun towards it “You will die next,” he says in English before shooting four times The page also includes what seem to be lyrics from a song called ‘War' from the work of German electronic music producer Wumpscut One part reads: “Whole life is war and whole life is pain And you will fight alone in your personal war Clips from the 1999 Columbine school shootings in Colorado where two youths killed 13 people then themselves were listed among his favourite videos It appears that the user last logged-in to the website only about an hour before the shooting It was chillingly similar to a video posted on YouTube by 18-year-old secondary school student Pekka-Eric Auvinen before he went on to kill six students his headmistress and a nurse at his school in Jokela Local detective superintendent at Kauhajoki Urpo Lintala Receive today's headlines directly to your inbox every morning and evening Please check your inbox to verify your details The ad-free version is ready for purchase on iOS mobile app today we couldn't find that page";var n=e.querySelector("h2");return n&&n.remove(),{staticContent:e,title:t}},d=function(e){var t=document.createElement("button");return t.innerText=e,t.classList.add("error-page-button"),t},f=function(e){var t=document.createElement("div");t.id="recirculation-404",t.classList.add("brand-hint-bg");var n="\n \n \n Tick here if you would like us to send you the author’s response Ten people were shot dead today when a so-called 'YouTube killer' ran amok at a college in Finland. Student gunman Matti Juhani Saari, who later died from head injuries after shooting himself, is said to have posted this video of himself firing a .22 automatic pistol on the popular video website hours before his deadly spree. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories ABC News News HomeAuthorities look for answers after mass shootingShare Authorities look for answers after mass shootingTopic:Internet Culture A woman grieves outside the Kauhajoki vocational high school Link copiedShareShare articleA deadly shooting at a Finnish school has raised questions about tougher policing of the internet and whether the thrill of posting threatening videos encourages other potential killers posted menacing videos of himself on the web before killing 10 people The 22-year-old also killed himself in the incident which closely resembles a 2007 massacre at another Finnish school where that gunman also published messages on internet video sharing site YouTube Police were alerted to videos posted by Saari and even questioned him on Monday (local time) But Saari was not detained because the videos "did not threaten anyone" directly said Finland's police chief - highlighting the difficulty in judging the risk of postings on the Internet a senior psychiatrist from the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma has advised the US Government on the link between television and violence "You think because the deaths and the educational institution are held in common, the motivation and the mentality of the killers are the same, and they can be vastly different," he told Lisa Millar on ABC Radio's AM. So should people be trawling through YouTube looking for signs someone who might be preparing to commit a crime? "I don't know that you find it by trawling through YouTube, but the professional interveners and analysts in workplace violence use the term 'leakage'," he said. "When you look back you see that the homicidal person who kills many people at once, more often than not, shows signs of escalating disturbance." But Professor Ochberg says that does not mean the possibility of become famous on the internet is encouraging more shooters. "It's a worthwhile discussion to have, but I think for many young people the universe is smaller for them and they are not going to distinguish between global fame and fame in a city or a school district or a neighbourhood," he said. "There may be a desire to outdo the last spree killer and occupy a position of notoriety, but I don't believe that at that stage of development the idea of being famous halfway around the world matters as much as the idea of making a terrible tragic traumatic impact where you live." But others tend to disagree. Some criminologists say video-sharing websites offer killers unprecedented scope to get their messages across. "This type of networking was not possible before the internet era," said Aarne Kinnunen, a trained criminologist and adviser to Finland's justice minister. "The internet creates the image that there is a crowd of people that respect this type of behaviour and [is a] misrepresentation of reality." Videos linked to killing sprees gained widespread attention in 2007 when Cho Seung-Hui killed 33 people, including himself, at Virginia Tech university in the United States and mailed a film explaining his actions to US broadcaster NBC. Analysts say web monitoring for malicious intent would be difficult since such threats were often vague, hoaxes commonplace and police resources limited. Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said authorities needed to look into what can be done to better protect citizens, including possible changes in internet monitoring and tougher gun laws. Mr Kinnunen suggested linking internet background checks to new gun permits. Finnish President Tarja Halonen told broacaster YLE: "The internet and YouTube forums... are not another planet. This is part of our world and we adults have the responsibility to check what is happening, and create borders and safety there." Several videos posted on YouTube by "Mr Saari" over the past month showed a dark-clad man firing a hand gun at a shooting range. The videos were removed by YouTube, owned by US internet giant Google, shortly after the killings. One video on a different website showed what appeared to be the same man saying directly into the lens: "You will die next," before firing off shots towards a camera on the ground. In other footage, he emptied his pistol at an off-screen target, turned to the camera, said "goodbye" and walked off. Finnish police declined to detail their internet file on Saari or their talks with him on Monday, beyond they were carried out by "an experienced policeman". Google said in a statement the videos posted by the suspected gunmen on YouTube did not breach its "zero tolerance policy for threats and incitement to violence". YouTube, which said it receives 13 hours of new content each minute, removes material largely through a system of "community policing" if users themselves report inappropriate videos. Saari's profile on YouTube included a link to another YouTube content provider, "Lovehetar" whose listed interests included serial killers, mass murderers and the Columbine high school shooting in the United States in 1999. Topic:Food and Beverage Processing Industry AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) Open image viewerMuistokynttilöitä Kauhajoen vuoden 2008 kouluampumisten jälkeen Image: YLE3.12.2009 6:30•Updated 3.12.2009 19:59Kauhajoki Factbox- 20.09.2009: Officer interviews Saari over internet videos but does not confiscate gun - 21.09.2009: Saari opens fire at the college - The Kauhajoki Vocational College is for youth over 16 years of age the school had 150 students and 23 teachers The families of those killed -- many of whom were in attendance -- are seeking convictions in their civil suit for more serious crimes They say the officer is guilty of dereliction of duty and 10 counts of aggravated manslaughter the families are demanding damages from the government to the tune of 860,000 euros based on 40,000 euros each for the loss of a child or spouse "Obviously money can't replace a human life which is reasonable given the indescribable suffering these people have had to go through," says the families' legal representative The government says it is not culpable for the damages because the tragedy was so completely unpredictable Several police officers had discussed confiscating the weapon in the proceeding days after a warning from one of killer Matti Saari's friends and others who saw him placing lit grave candles in front of the school Saari had also allegedly pointed his gun at a police officer and made threatening comments several officers had spoken of confiscating the pistol "to avoid another Jokela" -- referring to a previous school shooting in Finland about a year earlier on November 7 However the officers were told not to do so by their superior who said he would take care of the matter himself The senior officer visited Saari's home after police were alerted to YouTube videos where Saari had filmed himself shooting a firearm and making general threats as he felt no crime had been committed and the guns were perfectly legal Saari entered the Kauhajoki Vocational College and ran through the school shooting He killed nine students and one teacher before turning the gun on himself