Finnish deaths spark gun law call
Finland’s prime minister has called for gun laws to be tightened after a school shooting that left 11 people dead.
Matti Vanhanen said Finland should consider banning private handguns.
On Tuesday Matti Juhani Saari shot nine students and a teacher at a college in the western town of Kauhajoki, before turning his gun on himself.
He had been questioned by police a day earlier after posting on the internet a video clip of himself at a shooting range, but was not detained.
An investigation will now be launched into police actions prior to the shootings, prosecutors say.
Flags are flying at half-mast across Finland in a day of national mourning for the victims of the shooting.
In Kauhajoki, grieving residents placed candles and flowers outside the college as police started lifting some of the cordons.
Mr Vanhanen visited the town to offer support to a small quiet community, shell-shocked by what had happened levitra online.
Valid licences
“We have to tighten the law significantly,” the prime minister said.
“In terms of handguns that can easily be carried about, we have to think about whether they should be available for private people. In my opinion, they belong on shooting ranges.”
Tuesday’s shooting echoed another in November last year in the town of Tuusula, which left eight people and the lone gunman dead.
Both gunmen had valid licences.
Although Finland said it would consider new laws after that attack, no changes have been made and 15-year-olds can still own guns.
The country has a long tradition of hunting and weapons-bearing. An international small arms survey in 2007 showed an averaged total of 2.9 million firearms within a population of 5.2 million people.
Mr Vanhanen said: “The question is what kind of guns should be available with a licence. After these incidents, we have to discuss whether handguns should be legal.”
Questions will also be raised about the police handling of the case and the role of the internet.
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Saari, 22, was questioned on Monday but police said the videos “did not threaten anyone” directly.
Mr Vanhanen said authorities would also look at whether there needed to be changes in internet monitoring.
He said: “The internet and YouTube forums… are not another planet. This is par
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