Author(s): Kaj Bjorkqvist
Abstract Objectives: Finland has had a total of three school shootings with deadly outcomes. The aim of the study is to describe these massacres and provide an analysis of what might have caused them. An analysis of a fourth case, of a would-be school shooter who planned a massacre but never fulfilled his plans, is also presented. Methods: The study is qualitative, consisting of four case studies. The data has been obtained through a systematic collection of information available on the internet and in Finnish press. Results: Three factors are suggested to have contributed to the shootings: (1) the copycat effect, i.e. imitation of previous school shootings; (2) the relatively easy access to guns in Finland; (3) in all cases, the perpetrator had been a victim of school bullying. Conclusion: There is evidence that the perpetrators had been exposed to school bullying, which triggered hatred and an urge to exact revenge, not only at school, but at least in one case on mankind as a whole. The massacres were planned well in advance, and in the words of the would-be school shooter, acted out in "white rage", possibly in a dissociative state.
