Gunman opens fire in Finnish school killing nine

This is the second school shooting in less than a year. The police have said that the gunman was still alive, but wounded and in a hospital. Local authorities said that students and staff had been evacuated from the school, where a fire broke out. Local hospitals were on full emergency alert.

"A cold-blooded shooter entered the building with an automatic pistol and started cutting down students," said Jukka Forsberg, a maintenance man at the school. "He also shot towards me, did not say anything and once the bullets started to whiz by I started running for my life."

Rescue coordinator Kari Saarinen, who is the chief physician at Seinajoki hospital, said he was unsure about the number of victims, but believed there were several wounded and some dead.

The shooting has raised the memory of last year's shooting where student Pekka-Eric Auvinen shot and killed six fellow students, the school nurse and the principal at Finland's Jokela high school. Auvinen broadcast his intent on YouTube. He shot himself and died of his injuries.

"This is very depressing. We have only had some time since the Jokela case last November," said Saarinen.

Finland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership, ranking third after the United States and Yemen, according to a study last year by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies.

After the shooting, the Finnish government held an emergency meeting of governing coalition party leaders to discuss toughening gun regulations.

Source: Reuters