Hyvinkää shooting

2012 mass shooting in Hyvinkää, Finland

Hyvinkää shooting

Location| Hyvinkää, Finland
Date| 26 May 2012
c. 1:53 a.m.-7:45 a.m.[1] (UTC+3)
Target| Uudenmaankatu, Hyvinkää

Attack type

| Mass shooting
Weapons|

* CZ 452-2E ZKM .22-caliber rifle w/ suppressor
* Sako L579 .308-caliber bolt-action hunting rifle

Deaths| 2
Injured| 8[2]
Perpetrator| Eero Samuli Hiltunen

The Hyvinkää shooting occurred on 26 May 2012 in the Finnish town of Hyvinkää when 18-year-old Eero Samuli Hiltunen shot and killed two people and wounded seven others[2] with a .22-caliber rifle and a .308-caliber scoped bolt-action hunting rifle.

## Details

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Around 1:53 a.m., a gunman wearing camouflage clothing opened fire from a low rooftop, aiming at people gathered outside a restaurant. An 18-year-old woman died at the scene, while a 19-year-old man later died in a local hospital; both were students at the Hyria Vocational Institute.[2] The male victim Topi Koistinen (b. 1993), was a pesäpallo player of the Finnish premier division side Hyvinkään Tahko. Two other Tahko players were wounded.[3] Among the wounded was also 24-year-old police officer Heidi Foxell, herself a goalkeeper of the HJK Helsinki women's football squad.[4]

Some five hours after the shooting, authorities arrested the gunman, identified as 18-year-old Eero Samuli Hiltunen, who had no criminal background and was believed to have acted alone. The only motive given by the gunman was that he lost an impromptu "wrestling match" on the way to a bar with four other men.[5] The gunman had been in psychiatric treatment earlier. Nevertheless, he was found competent to stand trial in a psychiatric evaluation. On 28 February 2013, Hiltunen was sentenced to life imprisonment for the shootings.

On 16 October 2020, Hiltunen escaped from prison after being put on leave. A few hours later, he was recaptured.[6]

## Reactions

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Finland's President Sauli Niinistö expressed condolences to the family members of the victims.[1] The Finnish pesäpallo league Superpesis cancelled matches of the weekend and the women's football league Naisten Liiga changed its schedule.

## References

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1. ^ a b "Police: 2 dead and 8 wounded in Finland shooting spree". CNN. 26 May 2011. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
2. ^ a b c "Two dead, seven injured in Hyvinkaa shooting incident in Finland"
3. ^ "Koistinen menehtyi, Matikka ja Nikkanen haavoittuivat" (in Finnish). Aamuposti. 26 May 2012. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
4. ^ "HS: Vaasalaislähtöinen poliisi Heidi Foxell on sairastunut leukemiaan" (in Finnish). Ilkka. 4 June 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
5. ^ "MTVuutiset.fi". Archived from the original on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
6. ^ "Poliisi sai Hyvinkään ampujan kiinni – jalkapantansa katkaissut löytyi Helsingistä". 16 October 2020. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2023.