Finland school shooting LIVE: Three children aged 12 are injured in classroom disaster before gunman, also 12, is arrested
By Elena Salvoni
Published: | Updated:
Advertisement
According to reports, the suspect is a boy
The suspected shooter is a 12-year-old boy, MTV Uitisten reports to the police.
Finland tightened gun laws after school shootings in 2007 and 2008
Finland tightened gun laws in 2010 after two fatal school shootings in 2007 and 2008.
It introduced an aptitude test for all applicants for a firearms license and changed the age limit for applicants from 18 to 20.
There are more than 1.5 million licensed firearms and about 430,000 permit holders in the country of 5.6 million people, where hunting and target shooting are popular.
Home Affairs Minister says: ‘The day started in a horrible way’
Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said on The suspected perpetrator has been caught.’
The Finnish Prime Minister says the shooting has deeply shocked him
In a statement, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said: “The shooting in Vantaa is deeply shocking. My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones and the other students and staff of the Viertola school. We are closely monitoring the situation and awaiting updated information from the authorities.’
Finland’s history of school shootings
In 2007, an 18-year-old student shot and killed seven students and his principal in an incident known as the Jokela High School massacre.
Gunman Pekka-Eric Auvinen then shot himself and later died in hospital.
Months later, in 2008, another shooting took place at a university in the city of Kauhajoki.
The gunman, 22-year-old student Matti Juhani Saari, shot ten people dead. He also shot himself and later died in hospital.
In the aftermath of the shootings, gun laws were tightened.
Officers remain at the scene of the shooting
Finland’s Education Minister says government is ‘monitoring the situation closely’
Anna-Maja Henriksson said on X: ‘Terrible news from Vantaa. We are closely monitoring the situation. Our thoughts are with the injured and their families, as well as all those affected.”
Break:The shooter and victims are all 12 years old, police say, correcting previous information that they were 13 years old
According to Finnish police, all those involved in the shooting incident are 12-year-old students.
Police corrected the previous information they shared and previously stated that those involved were 13 years old.
Police arrested the suspect a 50-minute walk from the school, local media reported
Police found the suspect a 50-minute walk from the school, Finnish broadcaster MTV Uutiset reported.
One witness described seeing the “little” minor in the “hood” drop slightly to the ground before kneeling when police arrived.
Break:All those involved in the shooting were 13 years old, according to police
The shooting took place in a classroom, local media report
According to parents of students at the school, the shooting took place in one of the school’s classrooms.
Terrified children called their families from the school, two parents of students told Helsingin Sanomat.
The Viertolan Koulu school in Vantaa, where the incident took place, has 800 students
The incident took place at Viertolan Koulu School in Vantaa.
The students at the school are seven to fifteen years old and are of both primary and secondary school age.
In addition to the 800 students, approximately 90 employees work at the school.
The Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported that the school is located at two ‘learning points’: Liljatie Teaching Point and Jokiranta Teaching Point.
Citing eyewitness accounts, the publication reported that the shooting likely took place at the Jokiranta teaching point.
Armed police are present at the scene of the shooting
The shooting took place at the Viertola school in Vantaa, near the capital Helsinki
The shooting took place at the Viertola school in Vantaa, just north of the capital Helsinki.
Vantaa is the fourth largest city in Finland with approximately 240,000 inhabitants.
Break:The suspect was a minor, police said
The shooting suspect was a minor, police said.
The child was arrested by the police.
All of those injured in the shooting were also children, she added.
The principal says the immediate danger to the school has passed
At around 10:45 a.m. local time (8:45 GMT), the school principal announced that the immediate danger to the school had passed.
“The immediate danger has passed,” said Sari Laasila, who declined to comment further on the incident.
Images show police and ambulances arriving on the scene
Break:Finnish police say three minors have been injured in a school shooting
Police in Finland say three minors have been injured in a school shooting.
Several people have been injured in a shooting at a primary school in Finland
Several people were injured in a shooting at a primary school in Finland on Tuesday.
A suspect was later arrested, Finnish police said in a statement.
The shooting took place at the Viertola school in Vantaa, a suburb of the capital Helsinki, which has about 800 students from first to ninth grade.
Share or comment on this article: School shooting in Finland LIVE: Three 12-year-old children are injured in classroom violence before the shooter, also 12, is arrested