Three 12-year-old children were shot at a school outside the Finnish capital on Tuesday and one of the victims later died, police said, with a 12-year-old fellow pupil suspected of the attack taken into custody.
The victims were taken to hospital, a police spokesperson told Reuters. At the school, a building had been cordoned off by police.
Education Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson broke into tears when speaking to reporters hours after the attack in a country where gun violence among youths is rare.
“One 12-year-old child will never again return home from school,” she said.
The suspect and the three victims were all sixth-graders, the police said in a statement.
“The injuries of both victims who were taken to the hospital are very serious,” said Criminal Commissioner Marko Sarkka.
A national day of mourning will be observed on Wednesday, with government buildings flying the flag at half-mast, the interior ministry said.
There were no other suspects, police said. They provided no details on the identity of the suspect or victims, apart from saying they were all 12-year-old Finns and pupils at the school and the suspect was a boy.
Finland tightened its gun legislation in 2010, introducing an aptitude test for all firearms licence applicants. The age limit for applicants was also changed to 20 from 18. Source: EPA / Kimmo Brandt
‘Dark, locked classroom’
The shooting took place at the Viertola school in Vantaa, a suburb of Helsinki, which has around 800 pupils from first to ninth grade and a staff of 90, according to the municipality.
Parents had to wait for three hours before they were able to collect their children, with lots of tears and hugs when they were reunited outside the police barricade. Children had to leave their coats behind.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the shooting was deeply shocking. He encouraged parents to comfort their children and help alleviate any fears about further such attacks.
“I want to tell children and young people all over Finland that the Finnish authorities and school staff are doing everything they can every day to prevent something like this from happening,” Orpo said in a statement.
The suspect had admitted the attack in a preliminary interview, police said, and the offences would be investigated as murder and attempted murder.
No one has yet spoken on the suspect’s behalf. He will be put in the care of social services because a child cannot be remanded in custody, police said.
Police said the suspect, who was carrying a gun, had been arrested in Helsinki in a “calm manner.” Source: Getty / Markku Ulander
Police said the motive was not clear. The handgun’s permit belonged to a relative of the suspect, they said.
Video circulating on social media and unverified by Reuters showed two police kneeling at the side of the suspected shooter who was lying face down on a sidewalk.
The Viertola school has around 800 pupils from first to ninth grade and a staff of 90, according to the municipality.
Anja Hietamies, the mother of an 11-year-old pupil, told Reuters she received a message from her daughter after the shooting.
“She said they were in a dark, locked classroom, not allowed to speak on the phone but could send messages,” Hietamies said, adding her daughter was scared.
Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said on X: “The day started in a horrifying way… I can only imagine the pain and worry that many families are experiencing at the moment. The suspected perpetrator has been caught.”
Finland’s gun policy
Previous school shootings in Finland have put a harsh focus on Finland’s gun policy.
In 2007, Pekka-Eric Auvinen shot and killed six students, the school nurse, the principal, and himself using a handgun at Jokela High School, near Helsinki.
A year later, in 2008, Matti Saari, another student, opened fire at a vocational school in Kauhajoki, located in northwest Finland. He killed nine students and one male staff member before turning the gun on himself.
Finland tightened its gun legislation in 2010, introducing an aptitude test for all firearms licence applicants. The age limit for applicants was also changed to 20 from 18.
There are more than 1.5 million licensed firearms and about 430,000 licence holders in the nation of 5.6 million people, where hunting and target shooting are popular.
Source Agencies
