School Shooting

Six high school students, the head teacher and a school nurse were killed on Wednesday in the southern Finnish town of Tuusula when a student began a shooting rampage in the middle of class.

Pekka-Eric A. then turned the gun on himself and died from injuries at the hospital later that evening.

One in two Finns owns a gun

The tragedy would influence opinions about handgun laws, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said at a press conference.

According to a study by the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, about 56 percent of Finns own a firearm, placing the Scandinavian country third in gun possession, behind the US and Yemen.

The minimum age for applying for a gun license in Finland is 15.

Gunman posted video warning on the Internet

In mid-October, Pekka-Eric A. had posted plans for the rampage on the Internet forum YouTube, where he also presented the 22-calibre pistol he'd gotten from his shooting club. Police said he'd had a license for the weapon since Oct. 19.

The 18-year-old was known to support radical causes, teachers and fellow students said. The Finnish press has noted that the Nov. 7 date of the massacre coincides with the anniversary of the Bolshevik takeover in Russia in 1917.

"His [academic] performance was way above average," said a teacher about the gunman. He added that the boy was particularly interested in right-wing and left-wing extremism, according to a DPA news agency report.

The Finnish government declared a national day of mourning on Thursday and flags were lowered to half-mast throughout the country.

Jokela High School, located 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Helsinki, will remain closed until Monday and a crisis center has been set up in a nearby church.