Sanna Riitta Liisa Sillanpää (born 15 April 1968) is a Finnish woman who shot three men to death with a rented 9mm

Beretta 92FS The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The Beretta 92 was designed in 1975, and production began in 1976. Many variants in several different calibers co ...

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actu ...

on 21 February 1999 in a shooting club in ,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, and wounded another man, who received lifetime injuries. One man present was not harmed. One of the dead was the shooting club's 23-year-old supervisor. As Sillanpää was leaving the club, she said: "This is what they taught us at the FBI academy, isn't it?". She then traveled from the Helsinki center to the

Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (; fi, Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema, sv, Helsingfors-Vanda flygplats), or simply Helsinki Airport, is the main international airport of the city of Helsinki, its surrounding metropolitan area, and the Uusimaa region. Th ...

in a city bus, carrying a gun and ammunition. At the airport, she was trying to buy a ticket to "somewhere". Sillanpää was caught after four hours as she was boarding an airplane to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Sillanpää guilty of three counts of manslaughter
''

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that o ...

'', international edition, 12 October 1999 archive.org Before boarding the plane she left the gun in a trash can in the airport terminal. It was discovered by a cleaner.

Trial

At the trials and hearings, Sillanpää did not speak at all. No motive for the act was found.Ampumaratasurmia tutkinut poliisikansanedustaja muistelee – Salaiset kansiot -sarjaakin tutkittiin motiivina
mtv.fi In mental health examinations Sillanpää was found to have

paranoid schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social w ...

, and had a delusion of being the widow of an agent of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...

, whose death she had to avenge. She appeared to be a fan of ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'', and the police investigated the possibility of the series having a plot line similar to Sillanpää's actions, although nothing of the sort was found. In district court, the state prosecutor Maarit Loimukoski demanded Sillanpää to be imprisoned for three acts of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

without full understanding (partially insane) and two attempted acts of manslaughter, but on 11 October 1999, the district court deemed Sillanpää legally insane. Loimukoski appealed the decision to the Helsinki Court of Appeal, but the decision was upheld on 11 October 2000. Loimukoski explained that the reason for her demand for punishment was that Sillanpää had acted with premeditation in attempting to flee Finland and hiding the gun after the act. Sillanpää was sent to the

Niuvanniemi Niuvanniemi hospital is a state mental hospital in the Niuva district of Kuopio, Finland. Along with the other state mental hospital, Vanha Vaasa hospital, it provides Forensic psychiatry, forensic psychiatric services for the entire country. Niuv ...

mental hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cu ...

. Sillanpää, 30 years old at the time, has a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

and is an IT expert who worked for Fujitsu Finland Oy in Helsinki. After the incident, the Ministry of the Interior demanded that the security and permissions of commercial shooting ranges should be checked.Sisäministeriö: Ampumaratojen toiminta tutkittava
Yle Uutiset. Accessed on 4 June 2017. The rules for first-timer participation on shooting ranges were subsequently made more strict.

References

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110721170529/http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/arkisto/9902/990223/9902230176.html MTV3 News archive 23 February 1999: Weapon allegedly used in triple manslaughter found
MTV3 News archive 24 February 1999: Triple manslaughter suspect: "The bullets are personal mementos"

* ttp://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/arkisto/9906/990602/9906020148.html MTV3 News archive 31 May 1999: Sillanpää sent to mental health examination

Books

* ''Pohjolan poliisi kertoo'' 2001 (article: ''Ampumaratasurmat'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Sillanpaa, Sanna Living people People with schizophrenia 1968 births People acquitted of murder People acquitted by reason of insanity Place of birth missing (living people) Mass shootings in Finland 1999 mass shootings in Europe