A 12-year-old boy died and two others were seriously injured this Tuesday, 2nd, when a classmate, also 12 years old, opened fire in an elementary school on the outskirts of the capital of Finland, Helsinkithe police reported.
“Today, shortly after 9 a.m. (3 a.m. Brasília time), a shooting attack occurred at a school (…) in which a sixth-grade student died,” said Ilkka Koskimaki, the region’s police chief, in an interview collective. He added that two other minors were “severely injured”.
The attack took place at an elementary school in the city of Vantaa, which has almost 800 students, aged 7 to 15, according to its website. Police arrived at the scene shortly after the attack and the school was surrounded.
The suspect was detained less than an hour after the shooting with a gun in his possession, police said. He admitted to shooting at an initial police hearing, but there was no immediate information on a motive, police said, adding that the case is being investigated as a homicide and two attempted homicides. The weapon used was a pistol licensed to a relative of the suspect, said detective Kimmo Hyvärinen.
Photograph: Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva via AP
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo offered condolences to the victims’ families in posts on X, both saying they were shocked by the shooting.
“What makes this particularly shocking is the age of the victim and the suspect,” Orpo said during a press conference on Tuesday. “I can assure you that this (crime) will be carefully reviewed and steps will be taken to ensure that it does not happen again.”
The minimum age of criminal responsibility in Finland is 15, which means the suspect cannot be formally arrested. A suspect under the age of 15 can only be questioned by the police and handed over to Finnish child welfare authorities./AFP and Associated Press.
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