Former peacekeeper kills one and wounds another before shooting himself in Rovaniemi
A former peacekeeper shot and killed a young man and wounded another before turning the gun on himself in the Lapland city of Rovaniemi on Saturday night.
According to the police, the man had returned from a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo only a week ago.
The reason for the bloodshed is as yet unknown. The police have found no evidence that the shooter and the victims would have known each other. According to eyewitnesses, the men did not quarrel before the shooting. It is possible that the victims were chosen randomly.
“We do not know if the shooting was intentional”, confirms Det. Inspector Jaakko Aurala from the Rovaniemi Police.
According to the Finnish News Agency STT, five shots were fired in the incident. The police investigation has confirmed that the three victims were hit by one bullet each.
The former peacekeeper first shot and killed one man and seriously wounded another in front of the Hotel Vaakuna nightclub Doris, on the downtown street of Koskikatu, before he turned the gun on himself.
The shooter had arrived on the scene only moments earlier by car. The victims were leaving the nightclub.
“A window of the car was shattered, but so far it is unclear whether some of the shots were fired from inside the vehicle”, Aurala explains.
The man, born in 1983, and a Rovaniemi resident, fired several shots from his revolver in quick succession. The police were alerted of the episode by an emergency services centre at 2:44 a.m.
The shooter had two weapons on him - a large-calibre revolver and a hunting rifle.
The man who died in the attack was born in 1984. The other victim, born in 1985, was seriously wounded in the torso. He was rushed to hospital, where his condition is not said to be life-threatening.
The shooter and the victims were all single and of Finnish origin. So far there is no evidence that the shooting would have been gang-related.
The police are looking into the incident as murder and attempted murder.
Doris is a popular nightclub among the local young adults. The age limit for the club is 18.
The incident had several eyewitnesses. Around twenty people were standing outside the nightclub when the shooting took place.
Around forty people received crisis counselling immediately after the event.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 19.5.2008 - TODAY |
 Former peacekeeper kills one and wounds another before shooting himself in Rovaniemi |
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