| Imatra shooting | |
| Location: | Imatra, Finland |
| Target: | Random |
| Date: | 4 December 2016 |
| Type: | Shooting |
| Fatalities: | 3[1] |
| Injuries: | 0 |
| Perps: | Jori Juhani Lasonen |
| Weapons: | Winchester Model 1895 (7.62×54mmR)[2] |
| Motive: | Attempt to get into jail to be safe from "a hitman" |
The Imatra shooting occurred on 4 December 2016 in the Finnish town of Imatra when Jori Juhani Lasonen, a 23-year-old Imatra resident, shot three people dead in the town centre.[3] [4] [5]
According to the psychological evaluation, Lasonen was not criminally responsible at the time of the shootings. Therefore, The South Karelia District Court did not sentence him to prison, but instead committed him to involuntary psychiatric treatment.[6]
Lasonen had previous criminal records before the shooting, one for attempted murder and another for gross drunk driving.[7]
On December 14th 2014, exactly two years before the shooting, Lasonen had witnessed his friend's death. Lasonen himself had called the ambulance for his friend, due to his friend being unconscious. Despite the date of the shooting and Lasonen's friend's date of death being the same, Lasonen claimed there was no correlation between the two.[8]
During the interrogation it became clear that Lasonen believed his computer had been broken into and that there had been a drug debt put on his computer, which led to Lasonen believing a hitman was after him. He reported that he believed to have seen his friend's dead body in a car in front of him, which made him believe he would be killed too. Lasonen said his reason for the shooting was to get into jail to be safe from the hitman he believed to be after him.[9]
Just before midnight on Saturday, 23-year old Jori Juhani Lasonen arrived outside a local restaurant with his car.[10] He waited for vulnerable targets which he chose randomly, according to preliminary police investigations. Lasonen stepped out of the car and took a gun, which belonged to his father,[11] [12] out of the trunk and shot three people, all of them women, as they stepped outside the restaurant. The victims sustained multiple injuries in the head and torso and among them was Tiina Wilén-Jäppinen, who was a notable local politician of the social-democratic party. Aside from the three fatally wounded women, no one else sustained injuries.[13]
After shooting the three women, Lasonen waited in his car until the police arrived. Lasonen cooperated with the police and obeyed their instructions and his arrest happened without incident.
After the shooting the city decided to open up a crisis center, due to the small size of the city and the weight of the incident.
The shooting gained media attention not only in Finland, but also abroad. The incident was the main news on the Swedish Aftonbladet and Norwegian NRK. The news about the incident also gained traction in Japan and New Zealand.[14] It was initially reported that one of the victims killed was the local mayor, but that error has since been fixed.
The family members of the victims made an association which respects and remembers the victims, the association is called "Valon Vuoksi" (lit. For Light).
In the beginning of investigations, Lasonen stayed quiet and refused to speak to the police. On 14th of December, 11 days after the shooting, Lasonen finally spoke to the police during which he admitted to the shooting.[15] [16]
During the trial, Lasonen admitted to killing the three women, but argued that they weren't murders. [17] Lasonen also said that he regretted his actions. [18]
During the psychological assessment, Lasonen was found to not be criminally responsible at the time of the shootings. Lasonen was committed into involuntary psychiatric treatment, instead of jail. Lasonen was also ordered to pay a total of 180,000 euros in compensation to the victims' families.