Over the past ten years, Finland has made several changes to firearms legislation with the aim of improving safety and tightening the firearms licensing process. Shooting attacks are not common in the country, recently voted the happiest in the world for the seventh time.
Despite this, a 12-year-old boy died after being shot by another 12-year-old boy. The student left two other students in serious condition before being arrested.
Learn about Finland's history of armed violence:
Older case
The Raumanmeri school shooting in 1989 was the first mass shooting in the country's history. A 14-year-old student shot and killed two classmates in the city of Rauma. As he had less than 15 years old, the teenager has never faced any criminal charges.
Jokela shooting
In 2007, student Pekka-Eric Auvinen shot and killed six students, the school nurse, the principal and then shot himself using a gun at Jokela Secondary School, near the capital Helsinki.
Shooting Kauhajoki
A year later, in 2008, Matti Saari, also a student, opened fire at a vocational school in Kauhajoki, northwestern Finland. He killed nine students and one staff member before shooting himself.
Toughening of the rules
After the last two cases, Finland tightened weapons legislation in 2010 and introduced an aptitude test for all firearms license applicants.
The minimum age for candidates has also been increased from 18 to 20 years old.
A license is always required to own a firearm and all weapons are registered. Weapons can only be transported while they are being used for a specific purpose.
The weapon must be unloaded and stored in a box or bag during transport. The owner is responsible for ensuring that weapons and ammunition do not end up in unauthorized hands.
There are more than 1.5 million licensed firearms and about 430,000 license holders in the country of 5.6 million people, where hunting and target shooting are popular.
Licenses for the acquisition and possession of common firearms are granted by local police departments, while the National Police Board grants licenses for the acquisition of especially dangerous firearms.
Source: CNN Brasil
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