Rabat – A Finnish security source has reported the arrest of a 12-year-old boy who opened fire on his schoolmates at a school in Finland, claiming the life of one and critically injuring the others.
Parents informed the press that the incident happened in one of the classrooms of Viertola school which is located in the Finnish city Vantaa, north of the capital Helsinki.
Classes had just started following a lengthy Easter weekend. All the children engaged in the incident are reportedly six graders.
Following the incident, students were instructed to remain in their classrooms, according to the public broadcaster YLE.
Police, who arrived within nine minutes at the scene, reported that, like the three victims, the defendant is 12 years old. The shooter escaped the scene before being apprehended “in a calm manner” in Helsinki’s northern Siltamaki district.
Parents flocked to the school to pick up their children as soon as word of the shooting spread, but the building where the shooting occurred remained blocked off.
The defendant was allegedly in possession of a firearm that the police had taken from him. They also mentioned that the child had acknowledged carrying out the shooting in a first interview, before launching an investigation into the murder and attempted murders.
The defendant, according to the police, had used a relative’s gun license. In Finland, it is common for adults to own guns, and minors who are over 15 years old can obtain permits to use other people’s weapons.
The suspect has not been held in custody; instead, social services is handling the case since children under the age of 15 are not considered legally culpable in Finland.
Sending his empathy to the victims, their families, and all of the school staff, Finish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo described the shooting incident as extremely distressing.
“My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones and the other students and staff,” Orpo said on his official X account (formerly Twitter), adding that “we are following the situation closely and are waiting for updated information from the authorities.”
800 primary and middle school children, aged seven to sixteen, attend Viertola School on two different campuses. The incident happened at the school’s Jokiranta location, which serves students aged 9 to 13.
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