Image: Helena Mehtälä / Yle

In 45 percent of homicides in which a gun was used, the weapon was licensed and legally held. In killings where a hunting weapon was used, 52 percent of the weapons were legal.

The figures are based on statistics from the National Research Institute of Legal Policy covering 1,091 homicides between 2003 and 2011.

There are around 1.6 million legally licensed firearms in Finland.