A child has been killed in shootings at a school near the Finnish city of Vantaa. Two children were seriously injured. A suspected perpetrator was arrested. According to the police, he is also a minor.
A 12-year-old child has died after shots were fired at a primary school in the Finnish town of Vantaa, near Helsinki. Finnish police said two other 12-year-olds were seriously injured.
The emergency services arrested a twelve-year-old student in front of the school. The alleged perpetrator had a firearm with him. According to police, the children were all sixth grade students.
Initially it was said that there were three injured and no deaths. The victims were taken to hospital, a police spokesman told Reuters. There are no further details yet and the incident is being investigated, it said. The public was asked to stay away from the area.
“Immediate danger over”
“The immediate danger has passed,” the school’s principal, Sari Laasila, told Reuters. She declined to comment further on the incident. According to the local community, the Viertola School in Vantaa has around 800 students from first to ninth grade and 90 employees work there. Vantaa is the fourth largest city in the country with more than 200,000 inhabitants.
“The day started in a terrible way. There was a shooting at Viertola School in Vantaa. I can only imagine the pain and worry that many families are feeling at the moment. The suspected perpetrator has been caught,” said Interior Minister Mari Rantanen on X
Arne Bartram, ARD Stockholm, tagesschau, April 2nd, 2024 12:49 p.m