image source, Kimmo Brandt/EPA-EFE
The suspect fled the school when police arrived and was eventually arrested in a district in northern Helsinki.
A school shooting in Finland left one child dead and two others seriously injured, police said.
Police said all three victims were 12 years old, and the suspect, also 12, ran away but was later taken into custody.
Parents told Finnish media that the shooting occurred in a classroom at Viertla School in Vantaa, north of the capital Helsinki.
Police said at 9:17 a.m. (6:17 GMT) that they arrived at the school within nine minutes and treated the three victims.
“One of the victims died almost instantly in this area of the school,” local police chief Tomi Sarosilja said. “The other two victims were taken to a hospital in Helsinki.”
Like other Finnish schools, children had just returned to class in the Helsinki suburb of Vantaa after a long Easter weekend. All those involved appear to be sixth graders.
The suspect fled as soon as police arrived and was finally detained in a “calm manner” in the Sirtamaki district of northern Helsinki at 9:58 a.m. Video taken from a passing car showed the suspect being pinned to the side of the road.
Police said the man was in possession of a gun taken by police and admitted firing the gun.
Authorities have now launched a murder and attempted murder investigation.
As children under the age of 15 are not held criminally responsible in Finland, the suspect will not be detained and will be placed in the custody of social services after further investigation.
The suspect is believed to have used a gun authorized by a close relative. Gun ownership is widespread in Finland, and children over the age of 15 can obtain a license to use someone else's gun.
Prime Minister Petteri Orupo described the shootings as deeply upsetting, saying it was clear that too many young people were struggling with their mental health and said: “We have to tackle these issues sooner.” Told.
President Alexander Stubb spoke of shock. In Finland, the Day of Remembrance is held on Wednesday.
Education Minister Anna-Maya Henriksson was close to tears at a press conference, saying what had happened was a great tragedy. Her thoughts were, “She was a 12-year-old who would never come home from school again.''
She said it was shocking that a 12-year-old could have access to a gun, and once the government had the full picture it would consider whether further measures were needed to protect Finland's schools. .
Children at the school were told to stay in their classrooms after the attack, and other nearby schools and kindergartens were also told to lock their doors.
The shooting brought back memories of previous deadly attacks, including two mass shootings and a sword-wielding attack on a vocational school four years ago.
In 2007, an 18-year-old student shot and killed six students, a school nurse, and a school principal in the small town of Jokela, north of Helsinki, and the following year, another student shot and killed nine students and a teacher with a half-gun. Automatic rifles at the Technical University in the western town of Kauhajoki.
Gun regulations have been tightened in the wake of the shooting, requiring gun owners to be at least 18 years old, but now anyone over 15 can apply for a license to use someone else's weapon. .
National Police Commissioner Seppo Kolemainen said police relied on intelligence to prevent school shootings, but were unable to stop them in this case.
Finland is widely known as a country of hunting and gun enthusiasts, with 430,000 licensed gun owners out of a population of 5.5 million, according to government statistics. There is no limit to the number of guns a person can own, and the Interior Ministry says there are more than 1.5 million in circulation.
After news of the shooting broke, parents gathered at the school to pick up their children, but the building where the incident occurred remained locked down.
Vantaa is Finland's fourth largest city, with a population of approximately 240,000 people. The Viertra school has 800 primary and secondary school students, aged 7 to 16, divided into two separate premises, and approximately 90 staff members. The shooting occurred at the school's Jokiranta venue, where students aged 9 to 13 are taught.
Police initially said all those involved were 13 years old, but later lowered the age to 12.
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