School Violence 2007-2008

Violence in Our Schools

August 1, 2007 through July 31, 2008

School Violence Around the World Date Stats It's Not Always About the Gun School Violence Links Guest Book Email Me

To report a threat of school violence before the instigator has a chance to act on his/her intentions, please contact Speak Up at 1-866-SPEAKUP (that is 1-866-773-2587)

I would like to thank all of the Survivors and others who have contacted me with information about school violence. I really do appreciate the help, for without their help, several of these occurrences would not be here.

One other thing I would like to ask of those who read over this list of tragedies is this: If you can provide me with any more details of any of these incidents, I would greatly appreciate the information. Or, if you know of another violent act at a school that is not on this list, please forward that information to me as well. The link to my e-mail is above.

Webmaster's Note: I took this school year off to give myself a much needed break from all the work it takes to keep this site up to date. The ever increasing acts of school violence will get to you after awhile when you spend so much time with them. I plan on being back in August 2008 for the new school year.

Jokela High School, Tuusula, Finland

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Gun crime is rare in Finland and when the nation's first school shooting since 1989 came to my attention, I felt I had to add it to my list. 18-year-old Pekka-Eric Auvinen obtained a license for a .22-caliber Sic Sauer Mosquito pistol on Friday, October 19, 2007. He is a member of a gun club and the license was granted. Pekka-Eric then posted numerous video clips on YouTube (one called "Jokela High School Massacre 11/7/2007") that anticipated today's massacre at the school. In the videos, he shows pictures of the school and himself with the gun; loading the gun and obliterating an apple that was placed on the ground in a wooded area and then calls for a revolution against the system in the final video. When he arrived at the school, around 11:45 in the morning, he opened fire on students and teachers. Five male students (ranging in age from 16 to 18), a female student (25), a female nurse (43) and the school's principal, 61-year-old Helena Kalmi, all died in this rampage. One student was injured by the flying bullets while a dozen other students suffered cuts and other injuries as they fled the school. The police arrived on scene eleven minutes after being notified. They were able to make contact with Pekka-Eric and ordered him to drop the pistol. He started firing upon the police officers. As the officers moved in closer, Pekka-Eric turned the gun on himself. Paramedics took him to Toolo Hospital in Helsinki where he died at 10:14 p.m. Tuusula is 30 miles north of Helsinki and today is also the 90th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia.

Source: Yahoo! News - School Shooter Kills 8, Self in Finland; MSNBC - Nine Dead in Rare School Shooting in Finland; BBC News - Man Kills Eight at Finnish School; Yahoo! News - Finland Mourns Teenager's 'Revolution' Massacre; CBS News - Finnish Cops Tracing School Shooter's Path; Bloomberg - Finland Declares Day of Mourning After School Murders

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