Bomb threat on school blackboard leads to suspended prison sentence

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A student who wrote a bomb threat on a classroom blackboard was given a three month and 15 day suspended sentence by the Jämsä District Court on Wednesday. The 18-year-old boy, who studies at the Jämsänkoski Vocational College, described the act as a prank.
      Alongside the bomb threat, the youth’s previous use of cannabis, a theft, and a case of driving under the influence were taken into account in the court decision.
      In addition to the pronounced sentence, the court also ordered the student to pay damages to the federation of municipalities responsible for the upkeep of the college.
     
In November 2007, the student wrote on his classroom blackboard: "There is a bomb in the school and it will go off on Friday at 12 o’clock."
      The case was just one among many hoaxes that emerged in the days following the shooting spree at Jokela School on November 7th, when 18-year-old Pekka-Eric Auvinen, a student at the upper secondary school in Jokela, began shooting indiscriminately at pupils and staff. He killed eight others before turning the gun on himself.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Jokela shooting sparks more copycat school threats (14.11.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat