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Gun attack targets Finnish school |
Finland gunman 'kills students' |
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(30 minutes later)
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A gunman has been disarmed after opening fire at a catering college in western Finland, police say. | Several people are feared dead, with more injured, after a man opened fire at a college in western Finland. |
There were fears of injuries and possible deaths after the gunman - said to be carrying an automatic weapon - entered the college in Kauhajoki. | Police said the gunman, thought to be a 22-year-old student, was then disarmed, but local media say he shot himself. |
Finnish broadcaster YLE said he was thought to be a 22-year-old student. | He was carrying an automatic weapon and wearing a ski mask when he entered the college in Kauhajoki, reports said. |
Last November a student shot dead eight people at a school in Tuusula. The level of gun ownership in Finland is among the highest in the world. | Last November a student shot dead eight people at a school in Tuusula. Gun ownership in Finland is among the highest in the world. |
A BBC correspondent in Finland said a gunman dressed in black was seen at the school, apparently carrying an automatic weapon. | Media reports said the shootings began Tuesday just before 1100 local time (0800 GMT), when some 200 students were in the building. |
Police ordered an evacuation and called for reinforcements. | |
| Ski mask | Ski mask |
| A BBC correspondent in Finland said a gunman dressed in black was seen at the school, apparently carrying an automatic weapon. |
| A man with a ski mask was seen entering the building with a large bag, national broadcaster YLE reported. Shots were fired soon afterwards. |
| Police ordered an evacuation and called for reinforcements, with local reports saying the country's heavy weapons squad was heading to Kauhajoki. |
| The gunman remained at large within the college grounds for some time before police apparently restrained and disarmed him. | The gunman remained at large within the college grounds for some time before police apparently restrained and disarmed him. |
| "I just heard from the police radio that the shooter has been caught. He no longer has a gun," a police spokesman told the AFP news agency. | "I just heard from the police radio that the shooter has been caught. He no longer has a gun," a police spokesman told the AFP news agency. |
| But hospital sources and the mayor of the town were later quoted as saying the attacker had turned his gun on himself. |
| There were reports of a fire at the site and of at least one injured girl leaving the school covered in blood, our correspondent says. | There were reports of a fire at the site and of at least one injured girl leaving the school covered in blood, our correspondent says. |
Jukka Forsberg, a maintenance worker at the school, told YLE that several people had been injured. |
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A man with a ski mask was seen entering the building with a large bag, YLE reported. Soon after, the worker heard shots fired. | Are you in Kauhajoki? Did you witness the incident? Send us your comments using the form below: |
At least five police squads were sent to the scene, YLE said. | |
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Are you in Kauhajoki? Did you witness the incident? Tell us what you saw by using the form below: | |
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