Tuesday, September 23, 2008

School Shooting in Finland

At least nine people have been killed and two others seriously wounded in a shooting spree at a vocational college in Finland, police and officials say.
I'm noticing a recurring theme in most news accounts--pointing out Finland's relatively less restrictive gun laws and widespread gun ownership compared to much of Europe.

What I'm not seeing is any acknowledgement that, once more, the damage had been done by the time police arrived.

I'm searching around for Finnish laws to see if campuses there are mandated "gun-free," but in any case, I'm pretty sure shooting people is illegal.

The purported reptile (some reports at this time say he survived) can be seen here.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't help wondering if this killers was taking some meds his doctor said he needed to feel better.

Anonymous said...

He was picked up nd questioned by police the day before, but released.

Ahem.

Meanwhile, French President Nicholas "The French people should not have guns" Sarkozy is guest of honor at the Elie Wiesel Foundation humanitarian awards. Wiesel was one of the most famous Nazi hunters. Those OTHER people who said the French didn't need guns.
Are we learning yet? No. Sometimes not even in 60 years.

Anonymous said...

Big bad killer. A quitter and a loser is what he was, like Seung-hui Cho at Virginia Tech and Charles Manson and most other mass murderers. If life is pain and you want to give it rather than receive it, do what most people of that persuasion do: run for office.
Now watch all the Finnish officials say guns are the problem, even WITH a known problem child and even WITH 24 hours warning via video, and WITH him in custody just the day before the killings.
The problem is not enough guns. A gun-challenged witness says he reloaded at least once. Not in my classroom.

Anonymous said...

Finland had another one about a year ago. Carry is very restricted there, and weapons are licensed. The school was a gun free zone. Finland is also a very safe place despite this.

Anonymous said...

It wasn't too damned safe for the Russians. But alas, it appears the Finns are forgetting their own history.