Shooting in Finnish primary school: one child died and several injured, shooter also a minor

updateA shooting took place at a school in Vantaa (Finland) on Tuesday. Two children were seriously injured, the Finnish police reported. One child has died. The suspected shooter has been arrested and is also a minor. According to police, everyone involved was 12 years old.

The two injured children were taken to hospital where they are being treated. Their injuries are serious – the hospital does not provide more information for privacy reasons. The police assume that the deceased victim died instantly. Both the perpetrator and the deceased child were in sixth grade.

The 12-year-old suspect was still carrying the firearm during the arrest, which was non-violent. A close family member had a permit for the gun. The suspect has now spoken to the police and confessed during that conversation. It is not yet clear what the precise motive was. The official interrogation will follow.

An investigation has been opened into murder and attempted murder. Because the shooter is younger than 15 years old, the boy will not be locked up but will be handed over to social services after questioning by the police. The suspect’s family members, as well as the family of the two injured students and the deceased child, have been contacted.

A video published by Iltalehti daily allegedly showing the arrest of the suspect shows two police officers pinning a person to the ground on his stomach. A witness told the newspaper that shots rang out in the courtyard. “At first I didn’t understand it was a weapon. Then there was a terrible scream and children ran into the garden,” he said.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on X that he was ‘deeply shocked’ by the tragedy, ‘especially because of the young age of the suspect’. He said his thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones and the other students and employees of the Viertola school. “We are closely monitoring the situation and awaiting updated information from the authorities.”

Interior Minister Pekka Haavisto responded: “My thoughts are with the child who died in the shooting at the Viertola school in Vantaa and his family. I wish all those affected strength in these difficult times.’

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Worried

The shooting incident happened at the Viertola school, a primary school with approximately eight hundred students and approximately ninety employees. The educational institution has 800 students from 7 to 15 years old, spread over two locations. The shooting took place at the Jokiranta branch. Police were notified of the incident at the school just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning and asked bystanders to avoid the area, stay indoors and not open the door to strangers.

Parents have had telephone contact with their children, local media report. There was a lot of uncertainty and concern. Some parents tried to enter the school, but the police had to turn them back.

One parent, Janne Savolainen, said her daughter was able to send WhatsApp messages. “She said that they were sitting on the floor waiting for instructions from the teachers,” the father told the AFP news agency.

Crisis team

Students stayed in their classrooms all morning and parents quickly flocked to the school. Shortly after noon, police began letting parents in to look for their children, an AFP correspondent at the scene said. A crisis team has been set up with employees from the school and the municipality.

The municipality of Vantaa is located in the south of the country, right next to the capital Helsinki. The school also offers, among other things, lessons in the Swedish language and education for the disabled, as well as lessons for secondary school students.

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