7 Kids, Principal Killed During High School Shooting in Finland

Ten children are being treated for light injuries at Hyvinkaeae hospital.

A video was posted on YouTube predicting a school massacre in Finland. Image courtesy: YouTube

(TUUSULA, Finland) - Seven schoolchildren and their principal were killed after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at Jokela High School in southern Finland, just hours after a video was posted on YouTube predicting a school massacre.

Armed with a handgun, the teen started shooting during lessons at the secondary school in Tuusula, killing five boys and two girls as well as the principal, identified as Helena Kalmi, police said at a news conference.

"This is an extremely sad incident," Finland's Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen told reporters, according to state-owned broadcaster YLE.

The video, according to various media reports, is set to hard-driving music, and shows a still photo of a school that appears to be Jokela High School. The photo then fragments to reveal a red-tinted picture of a man pointing a gun at the camera.

"He (the gunman) was moving systematically through the school hallways, knocking on the doors and shooting through the doors," Kim Kiuru, a teacher at the school, said at the scene.

Story continues below

Finland has the third-largest per capita ratio of handgun ownership in the world, and violent incidents at Finnish schools are rare. According to Finnish media, there have been four stabbings at schools since 1999. None of which caused fatalities.