Profile of Driven but Troubled Student Emerges
The 15-year-old suspected of killing a teacher in what is Estonia's first school shooting of the modern media era was described as being from a close-knit rural family outside Viljandi that was dedicated to their children's education and extracurricular cultural activities.
Postimees daily reported that the suspect, identified by the media as Vahur, is from a family of four children, all of whom have been good students; some have even gone to academic tournaments, the paper said.
The paper also learned from talking to friends of the family that instead of opting for a small rural school, they would make the trip of some 10 km into Viljandi each morning.
The father and his son had a close relationship, and the two of them tried out for a local community theater last weekend. The son's interests also ran to medieval-style live-action role playing, and he had an interest in firearms. A number of Facebook postings from the last year also hint at a dark mood. Specifically he posted many black and white memes with inscriptions such as "Nobody cares" and "Welcome to hell."
Teachers at Paalalinna school have expressed surprise that the teacher of German, Ene Sarap, was apparently targeted; they said she was not considered one of the stricter teachers. It is not clear whether there was a conflict and if so, what it could have been, they said.