TALLINN — A 15-year-old student shot and killed his teacher during class Monday in a town in southern Estonia — the first known school shooting in the Baltic nation. Four other students were in the classroom at Paalalinna School in the town of Viljandi, police spokeswoman Tuuli Harson said. She said the shooter was apprehended and no one else was injured in the early-afternoon attack at the school of 450 students. Government officials said the victim was a... (GunPolicy.org)

The Methodist Church has praised the government's ratification of the UN's Arms Trade Treaty. The President of the Methodist Conference, the Reverend Ruth Gee, hailed it as a "legal milestone that should help to protect those who are abused and oppressed". Countries that ratify the treaty will be required to establish national arms regulators to control the exporting of conventional weapons and weapons components, and to properly regulate arms brokers. Domestic weapon... (GunPolicy.org)

UNITED NATIONS — Eighteen countries, including five of the world's leading arms exporters, ratified a landmark treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade on Wednesday, giving a significant boost to the campaign for the treaty's entry into force. The ambassadors of the 18 countries handed over the documents at a U.N. ceremony on the first anniversary of the General Assembly's adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty, which is aimed at stemming the global... (GunPolicy.org)

[Translated summary - A new Small Arms Survey report shows Brazil is ranked the fourth biggest arms exporter in the world. In 2010, Brazil exported $326 million (£736 million) in arms and ammunition, behind the United States of America, Germany, and Italy. Most of the exported weapons go to the United States, Malaysia, Germany, Estonia and Singapore.] O Brasil ocupa a 4ª posição no ranking de maiores exportadores de armamentos do mundo, segundo documento divulgado... (GunPolicy.org)

Police have sketched out a clearer picture of events leading up to an apparent murder-suicide that took place at Helsinki's west harbour Saturday afternoon. Officers interviewed eye witnesses as well as relatives of the Finnish-Estonian couple. Helsinki police say that they have for the most part been able to piece together a narrative of events preceding a deadly shooting incident at Helsinki's west harbour Saturday, in which a Finnish man shot and killed his Estonian... (GunPolicy.org)

How much gun violence is there in the U.S.? There were 8,583 homicides by firearms in 2011, out of 12,664 homicides total, according to the FBI. This means that more than two-thirds of homicides involve a firearm. 6,220 of those homicides by firearm (72%) are known to have involved a handgun. It's worth noting that violent crime rates of all types have been steadily decreasing since the early 1990s. No one is quite sure what is causing this decrease, though there are... (GunPolicy.org)

While fears of possible changes to gun laws have prompted some Americans to make a run on semi-automatic weapons, Estonian gun ownership numbers remain relatively low and are holding steady. ERR radio reported the number of legal guns in the past seven to eight years to be stable at 60,000 guns in the hands of 30,000 people, half of them hunters. Police captain Sven Põierpaas estimated this number to be "optimal." "Estonians are reasonable and balanced,... (GunPolicy.org)

A man threatened members of a Finnish church youth camp in south central Estonia with a gun before fleeing, a local newspaper reported today. According to Sakala, the individual, who was described by witnesses as behaving erratically and aggressively, accosted a group leader of the camp on the main street of the village of Pilistvere around 21:00 on Thursday evening. A boy in the group came to the defense of the female group leader, at which point the man grabbed the... (GunPolicy.org)

The National Security Agency (KAPO) has detained two men in southern Estonia whom it suspects of dealing in explosives and small arms. The two men, aged 37 and 47, were found in possession of 3.2 kilograms of TNT, 1.4 kilograms of ammonite, prohibited weapons, weapon components and ammunition, Postimees reported. Because the same suspects were allegedly involved in illegal explosives trading in 2008, the Southern District Prosecutor's Office has said that it is... (GunPolicy.org)

[Translated summary: Nearly a third of crimes against women are committed with a firearm and in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras this indicator is 60% - Small Arms Survey.] El mayor nivel de feminicidios se registra en Latinoamérica y el Caribe. Catorce países latinoamericanos aparecen entre los 25 del mundo con la tasa más elevada de crímenes contra la mujer. El informe de la organización de investigaciones independientes Small Arms Survey,... (GunPolicy.org)

In the wake of the attack by lone gunman at the Defense Ministry and the tragedy in Norway, Estonia is considering reviewing the country's firearms laws, which are fairly restrictive but do currently allow those with gun permits to purchase semiautomatic versions of deadly assault rifles. As of the end of July, there were about 58,000 guns in Estonia in civil commerce, 40,000 of which are hunting weapons. Gun shop proprietor and sportsman Martin Bahovski says that... (GunPolicy.org)

TALLINN, Estonia — A gunman armed with explosives entered Estonia's Defense Ministry on Thursday and opened fire, but police stormed the building and killed him, officials said. No one else was hurt. Many employees were seen escaping from first-floor windows as the gunman detonated a smoke bomb and fired shots in the central Tallinn building. Defense Minister Mart Laar said authorities should investigate whether the assailant had been partially motivated by the... (GunPolicy.org)

Estonian army is retiring pistols of Makarov known as PM. The local ministry of defense signed an agreement with company Heckler&Koch about purchase on new 9mm pistols USP, which will replace Russian PMs. This information was reported by RIA Novosti, which quoted press-service of Estonian Defense Ministry. The replacement of light weapons is going according to "Program of development and structural changes of Armed Forces of Estonia before the year of 2010." New... (GunPolicy.org)