(BRUSSELS) - EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso expressed shock at the "horrific shooting" at a Finnish trade school Tuesday when a gunman killed 10 people before turning the weapon on himself.

"We are deeply shocked and saddened to learn about the horrific shooting of students that took place in Kauhajoki today," Barroso and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn wrote in a joint letter to Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.

"Please extend our heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims, and those injured, in this appalling crime. We are sure that all the citizens throughout the European Union share Finland's grief today," they added.

The young gunman, a student at the cooking school, went on the rampage for an hour and a half at the school in southwestern Finland, killing at least 10 people before shooting himself in the head.

He later died of his wounds in hospital, police told AFP.

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