Accused Finnish school shooter leaves online trail
Police say an 18-year-old student opened fire today at a school in Finland, killing at least eight people. When he was done shooting his classmates, the accused gunman shot himself in the head.
He is said to be in “extremely critical condition” at a nearby hospital.
Finnish media report that the unidentified gunman posted a video entitled “Jokela High School Massacre” on the Internet before the shooting spree.
YouTube deleted the video from its site, but a cached version of Sturmgeist89’s profile includes photos and essay-like writings. This video, which looks like one deleted from YouTube, purports to show the gunman testing his weapon.
“I am a cynical existentialist, antihuman humanist, antisocial socialdarwinist, realistic idealist and godlike atheist,” the profile says.
The author of this profile is clearly troubled. He writes: Hate… Im so full of it and I love it. That is one thing I really love. It is almost impossible to change the system. The faster human race is wiped out from this planet, the better… no one should be left alive. No mercy for the scum of earth. [Expletive] political correctness, [expletive] equality, [expletive] tolerance and [expletive] democracy … It’s time to put NATURAL SELECTION & SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST back on tracks!
Update at 2:35 p.m. ET: We’re starting to see eyewitness accounts of the shooting spree. “Suddenly people began running and shots were heard and began raining down,” a student named Miro Lukinmaa tells the Iltalehti newspaper, according to Radio Netherlands. “I saw injured people lying in the corridor. We started to run and followed (the crowd) in panic. Everyone was trying to squeeze through a narrow door.”
Update at 2:45 p.m. ET: STT, the Finnish news agency, says eight of the victims were students. The eight was the school’s headmistress. More than 10 others were wounded. Doctors tell STT that the shooter’s not likely to survive his injuries.
The prime minister says flags will be lowered tomorrow in honor of the victims. This is the Scandinavian country’s first school shooting since 1989.
Reuters has a story about the role that online video sharing sites like YouTube have played in recent mass shootings. Sky News has a copy of the shooter’s video threats. LiveLeak has collected video coverage of the story.
Update at 2:56 p.m. ET: A web search shows that Sturmgeist89, aka NaturalSelector89, exchanged messages with a YouTube user who goes by 69snugglebunny69. That person’s profile includes links to videos featuring the gunmen who went on shooting sprees at Virginia Tech and Columbine High School.
The Finnish man accused of today’s shootings also communicated with a YouTube user who writes about being depressed and praises previous school shooters. We’ve chosen not to publish this person’s user name, but he describes himself as a high school student in northern California.
In a video called “my life,” that person writes: “the combination of my own violent beliefs mixed with my past is a very deadly mix. i’m still waiting for someone to save me when i know very well that no one will come. only time will tell what i will do. will i choose to kill? maybe.”
Update at 4:28 p.m. ET: The shooter has died, hospital officials say. “There was no hope,” said Dr. Eero Hirvensalo, chief of the Toolo Hospital in central Helsinki. “His condition was critical from the beginning.” Autor: Mike Carney
Fuente: usa
