Gunman kills five plus self in Finland

[merithyn]

Interesting article, most especially because it seems to be saying that the massacres that have taken place in Finland is entirely the fault of the non-Finnish. Do American papers do this, as well, and I just don't notice it?

link

The body of a man who shot dead four people in a shopping centre after killing his ex-girlfriend has been found in an apartment on the outskirts of Helsinki.

Ibrahim Shkupolli, 43, killed his former partner before apparently hunting down her lover at the shopping mall where he worked.

He took out out a 9mm pistol and started shooting early this morning as shoppers stocked up on food and drink for the new year holiday at the Prisma supermarket on the second floor of a mall in Espoo, a large town close to the capital Helsinki.

His body was found at his apartment in a suburb of Helsinki shortly after his ex-girlfriend was found dead in a house in Espoo. Police believe her killing had a domestic motive.

It is thought the woman worked in the mall where Shkupolli embarked on his rampage, and that he was subject to a restraining order.

"At first we thought it must have been a new year's rocket that had been set off by mistake," said one of the scores of shoppers who were evacuated from the supermarket when the gunman took flight.

Jyrkky Kallio, a local police chief, said there were hundreds of people in the mall at the time of the shooting.

One male victim had been shot twice in the head, said Stefan Soederstroem, head of Espoo police. It is believed that he was the lover of the gunman's ex-girlfriend.

Altogether, four people appear to have been killed at the mall – three men and a female shop assistant who was shot in the stomach.

After the shootings, police launched a manhunt for Shkupolli, issuing a picture of the suspect and advising people not to attempt to overpower him. They were able to narrow down the prime suspect relatively quickly on the basis of witness testimony.

His name appears to be of Kosovan-Albanian origin and police said he was not born in Finland.

Members of Finland's anti-terror squad, wearing heavy body armour, scoured the labyrinthine shopping mall. Evacuated shoppers were told to leave their purchases and not to collect their cars. Trains were ordered not to stop at the station closest to the mall and armed units were stationed in Helsinki train station in case the gunman had already slipped into the capital.

Although Espoo is big by Finnish standards, the community is close and it is not a place associated with violent crime. Many of the 240,000 inhabitants work for Nokia, and the town has a university research centre and well-funded schools.

It was, however, the third mass shooting in Finland in two years and is likely to prompt a new debate about gun control.

In November 2007, an 18-year-old went on the rampage in Tuusula, killing seven pupils and a teacher, before killing himself. It emerged that he had been in contact over the internet with a would-be school killer in the United States and that he admired the classroom killers from Columbine school.

Many Finns at the time argued that the massacre was a result of the Americanisation of Finnish society.

Then came a second massacre in September 2008, when a 22-year-old vocational school student shot ten people at his college before killing himself.

There is a heavy metal scene in the town, centred on the band Children of Bodom (who take their name from an unsolved murder in nearby Lake Bodom), and the schools have been trying to tackle a teenage dropout problem, but this time the problem seems not to be rooted in disaffected youth.

It does, however, highlight the slow progress that has been made in tightening gun ownership. Finland is a country of hunters and there are 1.6 million weapons in private possession – in a country with only 5.3 million inhabitants.

After the second attack in 2008, rules were tightened. Handgun permits were issued only to those who had trained for at least a year at a gun club. Applicants are now required to provide a statement about their mental health from their local doctor and answer questions submitted by the police.

There are, however, several loopholes and the new regulations apply mainly to first-time applicants for a gun licence.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Yet another thing that the US leads the world in, and other nations trying vainly to catch up. 

[Ed Anger]

Many Finns at the time argued that the massacre was a result of the Americanisation of Finnish society.

USA! USA! USA!

[sbr]

Many Finns at the time argued that the massacre was a result of the Americanisation of Finnish society.

USA! USA! USA!

[Martinus]

Interesting article, most especially because it seems to be saying that the massacres that have taken place in Finland is entirely the fault of the non-Finnish. Do American papers do this, as well, and I just don't notice it?

Are you asking if American papers blame non-Americans or do they, in general, look for ridiculous unrelated influences to blame?

American papers hardly notice there is a world outside of the USA, so of course they do not blame non-Americans. They do blame computer games, the moviemaking industry and whatnot though.

[Slargos]

The rise of organized crime in Scandinavia coinciding with the waves of immigration from the Balkans of the 70s and 80s is pure coincidence, and any speculation that it's mainly composed of balkantards is racist!

[Martinus]

Well, I didn't want to take an issue with it, but I don't see how saying the killer wasn't born in Finland is saying that it was "entirely the fault of the non-Finnish".

I mean, the terrorists who piloted the planes into the WTC weren't born in the US either - does pointing that out amount to "Americans blaming everybody but themselves for 911"? In fact, I'm pretty sure that not many American papers ran stories "Americans were the ones to blame!" in the wake of 911.

[merithyn]

It's the tone of the article that I found jarring, not the statement that the killer wasn't Finnish-born. And I'm not saying that there was anything wrong with it, per se, only that it struck me as being very anti-immigration in nature for a piece on a massacre in a shopping mall.

As for your example, it's silly. This is a domestic dispute. 9/11 was a direct terrorist attack on the US as a nation. That's like comparing Matthew Shepard and Uganda.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Yet another thing that the US leads the world in, and other nations trying vainly to catch up.

It's cute how much Finland is trying to be like us. Like a 3 legged puppy trying to catch a ball.

[Slargos]

It's the tone of the article that I found jarring, not the statement that the killer wasn't Finnish-born. And I'm not saying that there was anything wrong with it, per se, only that it struck me as being very anti-immigration in nature for a piece on a massacre in a shopping mall.

As for your example, it's silly. This is a domestic dispute. 9/11 was a direct terrorist attack on the US as a nation. That's like comparing Matthew Shepard and Uganda.

It's a tone you're gonna have to get comfortable with.

The mass immigration policies of all western european nations are starting to build a back lash in the general population and it's going to get very ugly before it can get pretty again. Mark my words.

[Martinus]

It's the tone of the article that I found jarring, not the statement that the killer wasn't Finnish-born. And I'm not saying that there was anything wrong with it, per se, only that it struck me as being very anti-immigration in nature for a piece on a massacre in a shopping mall.

As for your example, it's silly. This is a domestic dispute. 9/11 was a direct terrorist attack on the US as a nation. That's like comparing Matthew Shepard and Uganda.

It's a tone you're gonna have to get comfortable with.

The mass immigration policies of all western european nations are starting to build a back lash in the general population and it's going to get very ugly before it can get pretty again. Mark my words.

Nah. It is going to remain a part of the mass media narrative, but I don't think it will go beyond that.

[dps]

The rise of organized crime in Scandinavia coinciding with the waves of immigration from the Balkans of the 70s and 80s is pure coincidence, and any speculation that it's mainly composed of balkantards is racist!

Are you suggesting that this was an organized crime hit disguised as a domestic dispute?

[Slargos]

The rise of organized crime in Scandinavia coinciding with the waves of immigration from the Balkans of the 70s and 80s is pure coincidence, and any speculation that it's mainly composed of balkantards is racist!

Are you suggesting that this was an organized crime hit disguised as a domestic dispute?

No, I am suggesting that certain cultural strains enriched our culture with more than kebab and folksy dancing.

Another of his country men shot up another mall on christmas day in stockholm btw. Apparently actually a mob hit.

Such a strange coincidence that.

[Razgovory]

Many Finns at the time argued that the massacre was a result of the Americanisation of Finnish society.

USA! USA! USA!

It's funny, we have a word for Finlandization in English. 

[Admiral Yi]

Interesting article, most especially because it seems to be saying that the massacres that have taken place in Finland is entirely the fault of the non-Finnish. Do American papers do this, as well, and I just don't notice it?

That would be silly, since Americans shoot up people all the time.  Makes more sense in a place like Finland where they presumably view themselves as a non-violent culture.