HELSINKI: Scenes of panic and chaos erupted when a masked gunman rampaged through the halls of his Finnish cooking school yesterday, firing in all directions and killing 10 people before shooting himself in the head.
School of Hospitality janitor Jukka Forsberg described the beginning of the 90-minute bloodbath, saying that at around 11am yesterday, he 'heard the sound of shooting and hysterical girls' voices'.
Mr Forsberg was in the 200- student school in the remote rural town of Kauhajoki, which is about 290km north-west of Helsinki and has a population of just 14,500. He said: 'Two girls came towards my room and said a weird man was shooting.'
'Within a short space of time, I heard several dozen rounds of shots. In other words, it was an automatic pistol,' he told Finnish broadcaster YLE.
'I went to see and saw a guy leaving a big black bag in the corridor and going into classroom No. 3 and closing the door.
'I looked through the window and he immediately shot at me. Then I called the emergency number.'
The school had also been set on fire in several locations around the building, a fire brigade duty officer said, while YLE said the gunman may also have been carrying explosives on him.
Television footage showed police vehicles surrounding the school during the shooting.
Mr Forsberg described the shooter to have been 'walking calmly', appearing collected and determined, and wearing dark clothes and a 'commando-style' mask.
'Thank God I was not hit. He fired at me but I was running zigzag. I ran for my life,' he added.
Threats had been issued yesterday against the regional chain of 12 schools to which the Kauhajoki institute belonged, prompting officials to evacuate more than 2,750 students.
But Kauhajoki rector Tapio Varmola told YLE that there were 150 adult students in his school at the time, and that the shooting started in a classroom where 20 people were taking an exam.
Speaking to STT news agency, Mr Varmola also described witnessing horrifying scenes.
'People were running out of the building in two directions. When I went out I didn't hear any shots, only screams,' he said.
Mr Forsberg said he did not see any bodies as he raced out of the building. 'I did not see any victims lying on the floor, but I saw two female students who had been shot in the side. And later, I saw one student come out and collapse on the road.
'I heard horrible screams of pain. People were coming out of the building in groups.'
Once outside the school, he waited for police and emergency crews to arrive.
'I heard constant shooting. He loaded another magazine in the gun. He was very well-prepared,' he said.
The shooting spree continued for 90 minutes before gunman Matti Juhani Saari turned a gun on himself and was taken to a local hospital where he died of severe head injuries.
'Now the number of dead is 10 and the shooter has died. That means 11 people have died,' police chief Urpo Lintala said.
All the dead are believed to have been students, and the gunman is believed to have been acting alone.
The Finnish government said grief counsellors were on site and giving support to students, teachers and relatives, while Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen declared yesterday a day of mourning.
