Attack type Shooting Non-fatal injuries 8 | Deaths 2 Location Hyvinkää, Finland | |
Date 26 May 2012
c. 1:53 a.m.-7:45 a.m. (UTC+3) Target Uudenmaankatu, Hyvinkää Weapons .22-caliber rifle
.308-caliber bolt-action hunting rifle | ||
Hyvink shooting 26 5 2012 finland
The Hyvinkää shooting occurred on May 26, 2012 in the Finnish town of Hyvinkää when 18-year-old Eero Samuli Hiltunen (b. June 19, 1993) shot dead two people and seriously wounded another eight people with a .22-caliber rifle and a .308-caliber scoped bolt-action hunting rifle.
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Hyvink n ampumav likohtaus 26 5 2012 hyvink shooting rampage 26 5 2012
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. Eight other were wounded, including a female police officer who responded to the emergency call. 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. The wouded police officer was Heidi Foxell, a 24-year-old goalkeeper of the HJK Helsinki women's football squad.
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, and didn't have a gun license. 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. The gunman had been in psychiatric treatment earlier. Nevertheless, he was found competent to stand trial in a psychiatric evaluation. On February 28, 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. The Finnish pesäpallo league Superpesis cancelled matches of the weekend and the women's football league Naisten Liiga changed its schedule.