Racially motivated shooting incident in Espoo

Alert DateAugust 5, 2007 Country: Finland Address: Espoo General Type: Racist violence Racism and discrimination phenomena: Anti-migrant/xenophobia
Groups affected / Interested in: Migrants, Majority Key socio-economic/institutional areas: Anti-racism, Daily life
Victims Data
Victims Nationality/Ethnic Origin Finnish
Victims Gender N/A
Victims Age 18-25
Victims Number 4
Fatalities - deaths N/A
Perpetrators Data
Perpetrators Nationality/Ethnic Origin Finnish
Perpetrator Gender Male
Perpetrator Age 18-25, 26-35
Perpetrators Number 5
Extremist/Organised Group Violence No

Four people were injured when someone shot into a crowd of people close to the Soukka shopping mall in Espoo on the night of 5.8.2007. The injuries of one of the victims are serious, even though there is no immediate danger to his life, police report. The victims are around 20 years old, and two of them reported to the police only the day after the shooting.

In November 2007 the police reported that 5 men between the ages of 19 and 26 were suspected for the incident. The incident was seen to contain racist elements.  All the injured victims are Finns, but the group that was shot at included a foreign person.
    
The shots were fired in the vicinity of a pedestrian bridge next to the mall around 2.00 a.m. on Sunday morning. On Sunday, the shooting prompted a good deal of discussion on the terraces of local bars and restaurants, while no eye-witnesses to the incident reported to the police. A number of residents in the area had also heard several shots fired, soon followed by the thundering rumble of the arrival of the MediHeli EMS helicopter. According to reports from a number of customers of local restaurants and some youths resident in the area, the incident was sparked by a fight between some 20- to 30-year-old skinheads and hiphoppers.    

According to local residents, the shooting incident was the culmination of a scuffle and fistfight between the same parties a week earlier. Nobody appeared to know the accurate scene of the shooting, while part of those interviewed said that the shots came from the street below the pedestrian bridge towards the people on the bridge. According to several interviewees, the area has long been quiet until quite recently, when there has again been a lot of trouble between various groups.
    

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