The Finnish police had said all 3 victims of the shooting were 12 year old and that a suspect, also aged 12, had fled the scene of murder but was later detained by the police.
Parents told the media that the shooting had taken place in a classroom at Viertola school in Helsinki, which is the capital of Finland.
Police said they arrived at the school within nine minutes at 09:17 Finnish time and attended all of the three victims.
“One of the victims died almost immediately at this location in the school,” told the head of local police, Tomi Salosyrja. The other two children are currently in an ICU and their condition is described as very serious.
In all normality all the students attended school that day alongside other Finnish schools, children had just returned to classes in Vantaa, the outskirts of Helsinki after the long weekend due to Easter.
The suspect ran off as soon as police arrived and was eventually detained “in a calm manner” in the northern Siltamaki district of Helsinki at 09:58, a surprising demeanour as this was not expected. A video taken from a passing car shows the suspect being pinned down beside a road almost 4km (2.5 miles) frsm the school.
Police said the suspect, a 12 year old male had been holding a firearm which they had taken from him and he admitted carrying out the shooting in the school.
Authorities have now opened an investigation into murder and attempted murder.
Children under the age of 15 are not criminally liable in Finland, so the suspect has not been remanded in custody and will be placed in the care of social services after further questioning, but, we donot know what will happen for the parents.
The suspect is thought to have used a gun licensed from a close relative. Gun ownership is widespread in Finland and children over 15 can have licences to use other people’s firearms, a law that needs to be changed based on the latest events.
More information regarding shootings
Finland is widely known as a country of gun enthusiasts and has 430,000 licensed gun owners in a population of 5.6 million,A huge number. According to government statistics, There is no limit to the number of guns that can be owned and the interior ministry says more than 1.5 million are in circulation.
As news of the shooting came by , the parents of the children in the school had gathered at the place to pick up their children, although the building where the incident took place to be sectioned off.
