Child killed and two injured in Finland school shooting as suspect arrested
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A 12-year-old child has died after being wounded in a shooting at a school in Finland.
Two other pupils aged 12 were also wounded in the incident.
The suspected attacker, also aged 12, has been detained and taken into custody.
Officers were called to the incident at Viertola school in Vantaa just after 7am UK time.
The victims were taken to hospital, a police spokesperson told Reuters news agency.
The school has two sites, Liljatie and Jokiranta. The shooting took place at the Jokiranta campus.
Finnish broadcaster MTV Uutiset reported emergency services – including armed police officers – were at the scene.
Some of the children reportedly hid during the attack, while others who had been contacted by their parents on mobile phones said they saw what happened.
“The immediate danger is over,” said the school’s principal Sari Laasila.
The pupils injured in the attack were taken to hospital. Pic: Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva via Reuters
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the shooting was deeply shocking.
“My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones and the other students and staff,” he said on X.
“The day started in a horrifying way. There has been a shooting incident at the Viertola school in Vantaa. I can only imagine the pain and worry that many families are experiencing at the moment. The suspected perpetrator has been caught,” interior minister Mari Rantanen posted on the social media platform.
A witness told MTV Uutiset the suspect was arrested just before 10am in an area of Helsinki called Siltakylantie – a 50-minute walk from the school.
They said police stopped a young person – who dropped an object that looked like a weapon on the ground and knelt down.
Parents gather outside the school. Pic: Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva via Reuters
The school, situated on the outskirts of the Finnish capital Helsinki, has around 800 students from first to ninth grade – aged seven to 16.
Local residents have been asked to stay away from the school which has been cordoned off by police.
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Previous school shootings in Finland have led to the country tightening its gun legislation.
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.
Matti Saari, another student, opened fire at a school in Kauhajoki, in northwest Finland, in 2008. He killed nine students and one male staff member before turning the gun on himself.
In 2010, Finland introduced an aptitude test for all firearms licence applicants – and set a new minimum age of 20, up from 18.
