The Myyrmanni bombing took place on October 11, 2002, in Myyrmäki, Vantaa, Finland, in Greater Helsinki, at the Myyrmanni shopping mall. The bombing took place during the pre-weekend shopping surge late on a Friday afternoon, with 1,000–2,000 people in the shopping center, including many children who had come to see a clown performance. Kotikemia was shut down by the authorities following the bombing.

Site

The site of the explosion was at the central square of the first floor of the Myyrmanni shopping centre about 45 metres from the southern entrance near the Iskostori square, next to a McDonald's restaurant, a Musta Pörssi store and a K-Citymarket grocery store.

  • 17:10: There was a confirmed sighting of Gerdt at Asematie in Tikkurila. An eyewitness saw Gerdt walk towards the Tikkurila railway station and the bus station next to it. According to criminal investigation, the bomb was on his lap when it exploded, about a metre above the floor, with Gerdt standing up at the time of the explosion.
  • 19:35: The bomb exploded in Gerdt's lap, killing him instantly. Gerdt's body was flung out a distance of 15 metres and smashed against the window of an Intersport sports equipment store. As well as Gerdt, the bomb killed six people and wounded hundreds of others, some of them severely. The first emergency call was made at 19:36:49. Immediately after the explosion, the shops at Myyrmanni were closed and the intact survivors at the shopping centre were guided outside. There was no real panic at the shopping centre according to eyewitnesses.
  • 19:38: The first emergency rescue units arrived at the scene. According to first information, the explosion was thought to have resulted from an exploded gas bottle at the clown performance. The first police patrol that arrived on the scene found Petri Gerdt's driving licence on the floor near the check-out counters at the Citymarket grocery store. The licence proved to be a conclusive clue and was sent to the Tikkurila police station and from there to the Finnish Central Criminal Police. A total of 59 wounded, of which eight were children, were transported by ambulance and Medi-Heli helicopter to the Töölö, Meilahti, Jorvi, Peijas and Hyvinkää hospitals as well as the Children's Clinic Hospital, and during the next four days 27 patients were operated in 49 operations.
  • 20:04: The Finnish News Agency STT published the first news about the explosion at Myyrmanni. YLE made a special broadcast about the event. Suspicion of a bomb strike awoke when steel gunshot was found in the wounds in the patients transferred to hospitals.
  • After 12:00: Criminal investigators used a DNA investigation to find out the identity of the bomber. Directly after this the police performed a search at Gerdt's home in Tikkurila. The police confiscated Gerdt's computer, instructions for the bomb, gunshot and chemicals needed for the bomb from his room. Gerdt's school and workplace were also searched.

Sunday 13 October

A radio and television news broadcast revealed that the perpetrator of the Myyrmanni bombing had been the 19-year-old chemical engineering student Petri Gerdt from Vantaa, who was also killed himself in the explosion. The image led to much better clues, and Gerdt's movements could be tracked as far back as the previous Thursday. In June 2003 the boy using the nickname "Einstein" and two other boys were sentenced to fines for crimes related to explosives, which apparently had no connection to the Myyrmanni bombing.

Aftermath

On October 15, 2002, Finland observed a national day of mourning in response to the tragic events. Government buildings were closed, a moment of silence was observed in Parliament, and flags across the country were flown at half-staff to honor the victims. The shopping center was closed for repairs for nearly three weeks before re-opening later in October.

The bombing was especially shocking for Finland and the other Nordic countries, where these types of attacks are extremely rare.

Perpetrator

The perpetrator Petri Gerdt was described as a quiet, lonely, isolating and nice person who took others into account and appreciated others. He was never diagnosed with any psychical disturbance. His father Armas Gerdt said his son was a delicate character who as a child cried over even a small fall or discipline action and who often got his way. Armas Gerdt described his son as somewhat childish. even though he would have preferred to go to the university. During summer he worked at a supermarket called Hong Kong. He even wanted to work on weekends and could work for several weeks without taking break days. He was well liked at work and performed well at customer service. "In summer his parents had visited his workplace to see how we managed at grown-up work. He seemed to do well", said Gerdt's father. Gerdt never expressed having thoughts about self-harm or harm to others, and criminal investigation found that he had no intent to die in the explosion. The bomb was possibly meant to explode at Myyrmanni, but there is no evidence whether this was meant to be while the shopping centre was still open or after closing time. The bomb had a timer. He had been experimenting with smaller bombs in a similar manner. The self-made explosives were very unstable and could have exploded without any prior warning. However, Petri Gerdt's bomb exploded at a central site at Myyrmanni and had been lined with six thousand steel pellets and nails. Also the sun had already set an hour ago at the time of the explosion (the sun set at 18:26).

Suicide strike

According to one theory, the bomb was a suicide strike. Gerdt wanted to die in the explosion and kill as many other people as possible. Evidence against this theory include the lack of a suicide note and the chosen time of the explosion, an hour before closing time. According to police investigation, Gerdt had not expressed being a supporter of any political or religious extreme ideology.

Reactions

The event was especially shocking in Finland and the Nordic countries where explosions claiming human lives are extremely rare. Most Finnish and foreign politicians, such as President of Finland Tarja Halonen, Prime Minister of Finland Paavo Lipponen and Prime Minister of Sweden Göran Persson expressed their condolences to the victims and the wounded in the explosion. Minister of Domestic Affairs Ville Itälä described the event as "a criminal and condemnable act". According to him the event had been the biggest civilian tragedy in the Helsinki capital region after World War II. For the weekend, the Myyrmanni explosion was the main news item throughout Europe. After the event, security operations were temporarily tightened in all shopping centres in Finland. The aftercare for the explosion has later been discussed in public. Some of the wounded have said they had been left without proper support from the community.

In January 2003, many private persons and companies said they would demand compensation for the explosion. Almost all people seeking hospital care said they would demand compensation for their wounds or mental suffering, and over one hundred companies demanded compensation for property damages. Because the perpetrator was dead, the compensation had to be paid by the Finnish State Treasury and insurance companies.

The Ministry of the Interior placed an investigator group to investigate the explosion and the rescue operations after it. The group published their final report on 10 March 2003, and according to it, the authorities had mostly acted laudably. The rescue operations had been affected by the fact that the explosion had occurred indoors, good traffic connections and the location of Myyrmanni next to a healthcare centre. On the other hand, the telephone network had overloaded, which had hindered the internal communication between the authorities.

Petri Gerdt's father, Armas, wrote the book Petrin matka Myyrmanniin (Petri's Road to Myyrmanni) about the incident. The book was published a couple of years after the incident. It describes the events leading to the explosion. The reason for the publication was not an intent for defense, even though it describes school bullying, loneliness, isolation and the entire family's sorrow and the unability to imagine the entire event.

References

  • Petrin matka Myyrmanniin, Suomalainen.com bookstore