Myyrmanni bombing

Myyrmanni bombing
Aftermath of the explosion
Location	Vantaa, Finland
Date	October 11, 2002
Attack type	Suicide bombing, mass murder
Weapon	Ammonium nitrate improvised explosive device, nail bomb
Deaths	7 (including the perpetrator)
Injured	159
Perpetrator	Petri Gerdt
Motive	Unknown

The Myyrmanni bombing took place on October 11, 2002, in Myyrmäki, Vantaa, Finland, in Greater Helsinki, at the Myyrmanni shopping mall.^[1] A bomb was hidden in a backpack, which exploded in the central square of the shopping center on top of a metal waste container, located in the center of the square, at 19:36. Five people were instantly killed, including the bomber. The waste container was shattered, and fragments of the structure increased the amount of shrapnel and the devastation. The explosion ruined 400 m² of the shopping center, carved a 10-cm deep crater in the floor where the waste container had stood and blew the glass dome over the square up and outwards from the mall. In total seven died, including two teenagers and a 7-year-old. 159 were injured, including 10 children. 66 victims required hospitalization with the remainder treated and released at the scene.^[2] 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.^[3]