HELSINKI: A 12-year-old opened fire Tuesday at a school north of Helsinki, Finland, killing a fellow student and seriously wounding two others before being taken into custody, police said.
The Viertola school in Vantaa, Finland’s fourth-largest city, has nearly 90 staff and 800 students in grades 1 to 9, or aged seven to 15, AFP reported.
Today, after 9:00 am, a shooting incident occurred at a school in which a 6th grader, a student of the school, died, Ilkka Koskimaki, chief of the Eastern Uusimaa police department, told a media conference, adding that two others were seriously wounded.
Police had earlier said that both the suspect and the wounded were 12 years old. They have opened a probe into murder and attempted murder.
The child who was killed died at the scene, and the suspect had already left the school by the time police arrived.
The suspect, who was carrying a gun, was apprehended in a “calm manner” around 10:00 am and had admitted being the shooter in a preliminary interrogation.
Owing to the suspect’s young age, police said he would not be held in custody but would be turned over to social services after being interviewed.
Police Officers Arrive in School
A large number of police officers, some carrying rifles and body armour had gathered outside the school.
Parents of the students told reporters the shooting took place in a classroom, but police did not provide any details about the shootings during a press conference.
