The two school shootings in Jokela in 2007 and Kauhajoki in 2008 are by far the worst mass murders in Finland , with 8 and 10 victims , respectively . In both cases the perpetrator was armed with a .22 rimfire pistol licensed only shortly before . In the case of Pekka-Eric Auvinen , the original application was for a 9 mm pistol , but this was rejected . In the aftermath police were blamed for being too lax in issuing licences , as neither perpetrator had any significant history with sports shooting . Police defended their decision , stating that nothing suspicious had come up with the information available , so there was no reason to reject the application . Legislation was revised in 2011 and now pistol licenses can only be issued following a two-year period of documented , active pistol shooting hobby , and only to persons 20 years old or older
Kauhajoki in 2008
Kauhajoki school shooting
Firearms regulation in Finland