Teenager who killed classmates at school in Finland says he shot because he was being bullied | World

School shooting in Finland leaves 3 children injured

The 12-year-old teenager who killed a classmate and injured two others at a school in Finland on Tuesday (2) reported that he decided to shoot the students because he was being bullied, local police said on Wednesday (3).

The boy took a firearm and opened fire on students at the school he studies at., on the outskirts of the capital Helsinki. One of the affected students died, and two others were seriously injured.

“The suspect said during interrogations that he was the target of bullying, and this information was also confirmed in the preliminary investigation by the police,” the police said in a statement.

The victims and the detained boy are 12 years old, according to police.

The affected children were taken to a hospital in the region, where they remained hospitalized this Wednesday. According to the police, the arrest of the suspect and the weapon took place in the suburb of Siltamaki, about 3 km away from the Viertola school.

Commenting on the attack, the Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, said that the episode “profoundly shocks us”, particularly given the age of those involved. He also stated that the motivation for the attack is not yet known to the authorities.

The educational institution where the attack occurred has around 800 students, from first to ninth grade, and a staff of around 90 people.

“The immediate danger is over,” Sari Laasila, director of the Viertola school, told Reuters, declining to comment further on the incident.

“The day started in a horrible way. There was a shooting at the Viertola school in Vantaa. I can only imagine the pain and worry that many families are feeling right now. The suspect in the crime has been captured,” Interior Minister Mari posted Rantanen on X.

Finland has recorded cases of school shootings in the past. In 2007, Pekka-Eric Auvinen shot dead six students, the school nurse, the principal and himself using a gun at Jokela High School, near Helsinki.

A year later, in 2008, Matti Saari, another student, opened fire at a vocational school in Kauhajoki, in the northwest of the country. He killed nine students and one staff member before deciding to kill himself.

Finland strengthened its weapons legislation in 2010, introducing an aptitude test for all applicants for firearms licenses. The age limit for candidates has also been changed from 18 to 20 years.

There are more than 1.5 million licensed firearms and around 430,000 license holders in the country of 5.6 million people, where hunting and target shooting are popular activities.