Petri Gerdt
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For other people by the name, see Gerdt
Petri Erkki Tapio Gerdt, (1983-2002) was a Finnish 19-year-old chemistry student (from Evtek, Espoo-Vantaa Institute of Technology) and a hobbyist bomb-maker who detonated an explosive device constructed in his own apartment inside the Myyrmanni mall in Vantaa, about 15 kilometers north of Helsinki. Besides his own demise, the detonation left six dead, including women and a child, as well as several others (80, or so) seriously injured.
It is unclear on whether the incident was an accident or an act of suicide or homicide bombing. It is possible Gerdt didn't intend to kill himself. According to Gerdt's parents, he had been frequently detonating homemade bombs in the woods nearby, and had merely been passing through the mall on his way there when the bomb was set off accidentally. According to the police, it is also possible Gerdt's intention was to leave the bomb in the mall and remotely detonate it after he left. This conclusion arises from the fact that the bomb used shotgun pellets in its construction, indicating it was meant to kill.
Possibility of Gerdt having links with any radical groups or terrorist organizations have been ruled out; he was merely interested of bombs as a hobby. He was a member and a frequent user of a chemistry web forum Kotikemia ("home chemistry"), where he had username RC.
Gerdt, despite the Germanic-sounding surname, was Finnish-born.