Hyvinkää shooting
| Hyvinkää shooting | |
|---|---|
| Location | Hyvinkää, Finland |
| Date | 26 May 2012 c. 1:53 a.m.-7:45 a.m.[1][2] (UTC+3) |
| Target | Uudenmaankatu, Hyvinkää |
Attack type | Mass shooting |
| Weapons | |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Injured | 8[3] |
| Perpetrator | Eero Samuli Hiltunen |
The Hyvinkää shooting occurred on 26 May 2012 in the Finnish town of Hyvinkää when 18-year-old Eero Samuli Hiltunen shot and killed two people and wounded seven others[3] with a .22-caliber rifle and a .308-caliber scoped bolt-action hunting rifle.
Details
Around 1:53 a.m., a gunman wearing camouflage clothing opened fire from a low rooftop, aiming at people gathered outside a restaurant. An 18-year-old woman died at the scene, while a 19-year-old man later died in a local hospital; both were students at the Hyria Vocational Institute.[3] Eight other people were wounded, including a female police officer who responded to the emergency call.[1] The male victim Topi Koistinen (b. 1993), was a pesäpallo player of the Finnish premier division side Hyvinkään Tahko. Two other Tahko players were wounded.[4] The wounded police officer was Heidi Foxell, a 24-year-old goalkeeper of the HJK Helsinki women's football squad.[5]
Some five hours after the shooting, authorities arrested the gunman, identified as 18-year-old Eero Samuli Hiltunen, who had no criminal background and was believed to have acted alone. According to the regional chief inspector, Hiltunen did not resist arrest,[1] and didn't have a gun license.[6] The only motive given by the gunman was that he lost an impromptu "wrestling match" on the way to a bar with four other men.[7] The gunman had been in psychiatric treatment earlier. Nevertheless, he was found competent to stand trial in a psychiatric evaluation. On 28 February 2013, Hiltunen was sentenced to life imprisonment for the shootings.
Reactions
Finland's President Sauli Niinistö expressed condolences to the family members of the victims.[2] The Finnish pesäpallo league Superpesis cancelled matches of the weekend and the women's football league Naisten Liiga changed its schedule.
References
- ^ a b c Oliver, Amy (26 May 2012). "Gunman, 18, shoots dead young man and woman and wounds seven others after going on the rampage in Finland". Mail Online. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Police: 2 dead and 8 wounded in Finland shooting spree". CNN. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
- ^ a b c "Two dead, seven injured in Hyvinkaa shooting incident in Finland"
- ^ "Koistinen menehtyi, Matikka ja Nikkanen haavoittuivat" (in Finnish). Aamuposti. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "HS: Vaasalaislähtöinen poliisi Heidi Foxell on sairastunut leukemiaan" (in Finnish). Ilkka. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "Finland gunman in deadly rampage". Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/rikos.shtml/hyvinkaan-ampuja-pyysi-anteeksi-uhreiltaan-taysin-turha-teko/2013/01/1692853