12-year-old student shoots three other pupils at Finland primary school before being arrested

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 – A 12-year-old student opened fire at a Finnish school this morning injuring three other minors before being arrested, police said.

According to Mail Online, Heavily armed police cordoned off the lower secondary school, with around 800 students, in the city of Vantaa - just outside the capital of Helsinki after receiving a call about a shooting incident at 9.08am local time.

The suspect was later detained, police said, with Finnish broadcaster MTV Uutiset reporting that police caught up with them a 50-minute walk from the school.

One witness described seeing the 'small' and 'hooded' minor drop something to the floor before kneeling down as police arrived to arrest them.

The suspect was found in possession of a firearm, reports said.

Police later said that three minors were injured in the attack and that the suspect was also a child. Their identity has not been released.

Officials said that the shooter and the victims were all 12 years old, while local news outlets quoted parents at the school as saying the shooting occurred inside a classroom.

An investigation into the shooting has been launched.

'All those involved in the shooting incident are minors. According to the police's current information, there are three injured,' a police statement said.

According to two parents at the school who spoke to Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, frightened children called their parents from inside the building. Parents have since tried to get inside the school, but it is currently locked down by police.

In addition to its 800 primary and middle-school aged students - who are between seven and 15 years old - about 90 staff work at the school.

Pupils and staff had just returned to school after the Easter holidays when the shooting began on Tuesday morning.

The police said in an earlier statement: 'Police are at the scene investigating the incident. Bystanders are asked to stay away from the area and indoors.

'The door should not be opened to strangers,'

The Viertola school's principal Sari Laasila later told Reuters that 'the immediate danger is over', declining to comment further on the incident.

Helsingin Sanomat reported that the school is situated across two 'teaching points' - Liljatie Teaching Point and Jokiranta Teaching Point.

The publication reported that the shooting was carried out at the Jokiranta teaching point, which backs onto the Keravanjoki river.

The eyewitness told Helsingin Sanomat that two ambulances and police cars left the school at around 10am local time (7am GMT).

He said there had been several police cars at the scene.

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