19-Year-Old Shooter Gets Life In Prison
A 19-year-old shooter in Finland has been given a life sentence after killing two and injuring seven in May 2012, UPI reported on Thursday, February 28.
Eero Hiltunen was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, and causing grave danger to outsiders by the Hyvinkaa District Court on Thursday.
Hiltunen has admitted to the crime, but has refused to offer a motive. In addition to life imprisonment, he will be forced to pay $525,574 as “compensation to victims,” according to UPI.
The shooting is unusual for Finland, which according to WTNH, hasn’t experienced this deadly of an incident since December 31, 2009, when a lone gunman killed his girlfriend and four others at a shopping mall.
In light of that and recent shootings in Las Vegas and at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, The Inquisitr compared Finland’s gun deaths and gun ownership to that of the US.
According to GunPolicy.org, guns owned by the 5.4 million population of Finland total approximately 2.4 million, or close to one firearm for every other person.
As of 2010, annual deaths that resulted from firearm use were just 195.
In the US, guns held by civilians total 270 million, or a little less than one each for its 310 million population. As of 2011, gun deaths in the US totaled 32,163, or 10.3 per 100,000 versus 3.64 per 100,000 in Finland.
When compared to 178 countries, Finland ranked at number 33 for privately owned firearms. The US is ranked at number one.
What are your thoughts on Finland’s ability to minimize gun crimes in spite of free access to privately owned firearms? Do you believe gun restrictions would further reduce the amount of deaths each year?
[Image via ShutterStock]
