A 12-year-old child has died after shots were fired at a primary school in the Finnish town of Vantaa, near Helsinki. Two other children were seriously injured, Finnish police announced on Tuesday. Authorities were contacted on Tuesday morning after a shooting occurred on school grounds, Finnish police said. Initially she spoke of three injured twelve-year-olds. The emergency services arrested a student in front of the school. The suspected perpetrator who was arrested was also a twelve-year-old. The alleged perpetrator had a firearm with him.
According to the police, the arrest went smoothly. The newspaper “Iltalehti” published a video that is said to show the twelve-year-old’s arrest. In it you can see two police officers with a person lying on his stomach.
According to their own information, the police arrived at the scene of the attack in the suburb of Vantaa, north of Helsinki, at around 9 a.m. (local time, 8 a.m. CEST), and the suspected perpetrator was caught about an hour later.
The police were initially unable to provide any information about the health status of the injured children. The public was asked to stay away from the area. The incident is being further investigated on site. During the large-scale operation, the emergency services cordoned off the school.
After the crime, the students at the Viertola School were initially supervised in their classes. Public broadcaster Yle reported that worried parents rushed to the school. Police officers there looked after them. Some parents told Finnish media after phone calls with their children that the shots were fired in a classroom. According to Finnish media, a crisis team made up of employees from the school and the city administration has been set up.
The affected school in Vantaa has two locations, according to its website. Around 800 children between the ages of seven and 15 are taught there.
Interior Minister Rantanen expressed regret at “the pain and concern that many families are feeling right now.” The day started “in a shocking way,” she wrote on the online service X.
A few years ago, Finland experienced several similar acts. In November 2007, an 18-year-old opened fire in a school in Jokela, around 50 kilometers from Helsinki, killing eight people, including six students. After the crime he committed suicide.
In September 2008, a gun attack occurred at a vocational school in the western Finnish town of Kauhajoki. The 22-year-old attacker killed ten people and then also committed suicide.
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Note: This article has been updated several times.
