A 12-year-old student opened fire at a secondary school in southern Finland and wounded three other students on Tuesday, police said.
Heavily armed police cordoned off the lower secondary school, with some 800 students, in the city of Vantaa, just outside the capital, Helsinki, after receiving a call about a shooting incident at 09:08 am.
Police said both the suspect and the wounded were 12 years old.
The Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat said the suspect was arrested in the Helsinki area later on Tuesday.
Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said on X:
“The day started in a horrifying way. There has been a shooting incident at the Viertola school in Vantaa. I can only imagine the pain and worry that many families are experiencing at the moment. The suspected perpetrator has been caught,”.
Authorities asked people in the area to stay away from the school and to remain indoors while not letting in strangers.
The school, housed in two locations, also includes special education and outpatient classes.
