A 35-year-old man shot his parents at the family’s summer cottage in Puolanka in the Province of Oulu in Northern Finland on Wednesday morning.
The family tragedy took place near the town centre of the municipality of Puolanka, along the highway leading to Utajärvi.
A short while after the shootings, the man walked to the neighbouring cottage to report what had happened.
The neighbour called the emergency centre at 12:05, after which several police units arrived at the scene from the nearby cities of Oulu and Kajaani.
The shooter escaped on foot into the nearby woods.
Police used dog patrols in the search for the man.
At around 17:00 a Border Guard helicopter found the man dead less than a kilometre away from the cottage. He had shot himself.
According to police sergeant Erkki Sirviö, the man was found dead in the woods with a gun lying next to him.
The couple that perished in the shootings had purchased an old timber house by the shore of the Kivarijärvi lake a couple of years ago.
They had then renovated the property extensively, turning it into their holiday home.
The police have not yet revealed details regarding the gun used in the tragedy.
The perpetrator was in possession of a gun licence, for example for a hunting weapon. The police are continuing their investigations into the killings.
