Helsinki - Nine people were killed Tuesday at the shooting spree in western Finland, police said at a news conference, Finnish news agency STT reported.

The STT account had come shortly after police had disclosed several deaths in the shooting but had declined to be more specific about the numbers.

There were some 150 to 200 students at the trade school in Kauhajoki, about 300 kilometres north-west of the capital Helsinki, where the shooting took place, public broadcaster YLE said.

Police superintendent Urpo Lintala said the alleged gunman had been taken to hospital but had no details of his condition.

Finnish news agency STT reported that the alleged suspect had sustained a gunshot wound to the head and was being treated at a hospital in Tampere.

In a related development, the Finnish cabinet was slated to hold an emergency meeting.

The suspected gunman was seen wearing a ski mask and carrying a bag before the shooting, according to school employees quoted by YLE and other media.

A "small fire" set at the school had been brought under control, Lintala said.

Online media sites and chat groups published images off the video sharing site YouTube with a clip of a young man, identified as "Herra S." who said he was 22 years old and from Kauhajoki. The clip showed him with a Walther P22 pistol at a shooting range.

The clip was accompanied by a gloomy poem with the words "and suddenly there was war and the mothers they screamed."

In November 2007, a Finnish high school student killed eight people in a school shooting before killing himself.

The 18-year-old student also posted a video on YouTube before the November shooting at Jokela, 60 kilometres north of Helsinki. The incident triggered a series of threats against schools in Finland and its Nordic neighbours. (dpa)