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The 12-year-old shooter was arrested after the incident in the Helsinki suburb of Vantaa.
A child has been killed and two others injured in a shooting by another minor at an elementary school in Finland, according to authorities.
Finnish police said the 12-year-old attacker was arrested early Tuesday, shortly after the incident at Viertola school in the Helsinki suburb of Vantaa. Like the United States, Finland has high rates of gun ownership, but gun violence and school shootings are rare in the country.
“The immediate danger has passed,” school principal Sari Lasila told Reuters, declining to comment further.
According to police, the two injured victims, who are the same age as the attacker, were taken to hospital. His identity and condition were not immediately clear.
Parents were later seen taking their children from another school building hundreds of meters away, as police sealed off another building.
According to the municipal government, schools in Vantaa have approximately 800 students from first to ninth grade and a staff of 90.
Police told reporters that all those involved in the incident were Finnish. He said that the motive is not yet clear.
“The day began on a horrific observe… I can solely think about the ache and anxiousness that many households are experiencing proper now. The suspected perpetrator has been captured,” Inside Minister Marie Rantanen wrote in a press release posted on Instagram.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo stated the taking pictures was extraordinarily surprising.
“My ideas are with the victims, their family members, and different college students and employees. We’re monitoring the scenario carefully and await updates from authorities,” he stated on Twitter.
Ampumavalikohatous vantalla jarkitta sivasti. Ajatxeni ovet uhrien, heiden lahistensa og viertolan koulun muiden opiladen og henkilokunnen luona.
Seurame tilnetta twisti and odotam viranomysten pevittivia taitoja.https://t.co/wJjwp8mcal
– Petteri Orpo (@PetteriOrpo) 2 April 2024
Police stated the suspect used a handgun for which the allow belonged to an in depth relative.
Whereas incidents of gun violence are comparatively uncommon in Finland, earlier college shootings have targeted consideration on the nation's gun coverage.
In 2007, eight individuals, together with six college students, have been shot useless at a highschool close to Helsinki, earlier than the coed perpetrator killed himself.
The next yr, 9 college students and one college employees member have been shot by a scholar earlier than turning the gun on himself.
Gun legal guidelines have been tightened in 2010, introducing a qualification examination for all firearms license candidates. The age restrict for candidates was additionally modified from 18 to twenty.
There are greater than 1.5 million licensed firearms and about 430,000 license holders within the nation of 5.6 million individuals, the place looking and goal taking pictures are fashionable.