One child has been confirmed dead and two injured after a shooting incident at a school outside Helsinki. A 12-year-old perpetrator has been arrested, according to Finnish police.
Published: 02/04/2024 09:01 | Updated: 02/04/2024 12:47
According to the police, all those involved in the shooting incident are pupils at the school, 12 years old and Finnish.
The incident happened at Viertola primary school in Vantaa on Tuesday morning. The shooting is said to have taken place inside a classroom.
– The immediate danger at the school is now over, says principal Sari Laasila to Reuters.
The weapon belongs to a close relative
The 12-year-old who has been arrested is suspected of murder and two attempted murders.
According to the police, the suspect used a handgun belonging to a close relative. The weapon is licensed.
The police received a report about the incident at 8 o’clock Norwegian time, and asked passers-by to stay away from the area. Neighbors were asked to stay indoors and not open their doors to strangers.
Begins to release students
The school has around 800 pupils and 90 employees.
Pupils and staff at the school have barricaded themselves in classrooms and other rooms awaiting instructions. The principal of the school told the newspaper Ilta Sanomat.
The police have now started to let pupils out, according to the newspaper Iltalehti.
The school is divided into two parts, and the shooting is said to have taken place at the part called Jokiranta.
According to MTV Uutiset, several parents and relatives have made it to the school’s premises. Some tried to get into the premises, but were turned away by the police.
The perpetrator arrested in Helsinki
– The suspected perpetrator and the weapon are in the possession of the police, Finnish police write on their website.
Films and pictures in the Finnish media show that the shooter was arrested on the street and not on the school grounds.
The police state that the arrest took place in Helsinki.
It is still not known what may have been the motive behind the shooting.
Vantaa has around 200,000 inhabitants, is Finland’s fourth largest city and is located around 20 kilometers north of Helsinki.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo writes on X that he is deeply shocked by the incident in Vanda.
– My thoughts go out to the victims, their relatives and other students and staff at the school, he writes.
More school shootings in Finland
Finland has been exposed to several school shootings in the past.
In November 2007, Pekka-Eric Auvinen (18) went on a rampage with weapons at a school in Jokela. Eight people were killed – including the school’s principal. Several others were seriously injured.
The following autumn, ten were killed in the massacre in Kauhajoki, which the 22-year-old student Matti Juhani Saari was behind. Jokela is only 3 miles from Viertola primary school.
During the press conference on Tuesday morning, the police chief stated Seppo Kolehmainen that they receive school threats weekly.
– The police often have to protect the school day with a visible presence in educational institutions, says Kolehmainen.
– Together we thought that we as a society would have learned from previous school shootings. Such a day should not have happened, continues Kolehmainen.
The case is updated.
The police initially stated that those involved were 13 years old. The correct thing is that they are 12 years old. The article was corrected on 2 April at 10.23.
