12-Year-Old Suspect Arrested as Child Killed in Finland School Shooting

Dan Ladden-Hall
·1 min read
Markku Ulander/AFP via Getty Images
Markku Ulander/AFP via Getty Images

A child was killed and two others were seriously injured Tuesday when a student opened fire at a school in southern Finland, local authorities said.

All of the victims were 12 years old, according to police. The suspect—also 12—was taken into custody after fleeing the scene of the shooting at the Viertola school in Vantaa, a suburb of Helsinki.

Uvalde Mayor Resigns Abruptly, Citing Medical Concerns

Police said one of the victims died at the scene, while the other two are currently hospitalized with serious injuries.

Local authorities said they responded to the incident shortly before 9 a.m. The suspect—who has not been named—allegedly ran after the attack but was later detained without incident in a district of northern Helsinki. Police said the gun had also been recovered.

The local municipality said the Viertola school has around 800 students from first to ninth grade and a staff of 90. Finnish media reported that worried parents had started to gather at the school—which is split across two sites—after news of the shooting emerged.

“The day started in a shocking way,” Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen wrote in an X post. “There has been a shooting incident at Viertola school in Vantaa. I can only imagine the pain and worry many families are experiencing right now.”

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said he is following the situation closely and is waiting for further information from police. “My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones and the other students and staff of Viertola school,” he wrote.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Calgary contractor guilty of forgery tells judge he 'screwed up'

    A Calgary contractor who did work on the HGTV show Property Brothers apologized in court and told a judge he "screwed up" as he pleaded guilty to charges of forgery. Last summer, Alan Hrehirchuk, 54, was charged with fraud and forgery. On Monday, the fraud charges were withdrawn after the contractor pleaded guilty to forgery for issuing fake subcontractor invoices to a couple who had hired Hrehirchuk's company to do a major renovation on their home.After hearing arguments from prosecutor Greg Wh

  • Infant, grandparents among 4 killed in Highway 401 crash

    An infant and their grandparents were among four people killed in a fiery crash east of Toronto on Monday, after police pursued a robbery suspect driving the wrong way on Highway 401, Ontario's police watchdog says.Monica Hudon, spokesperson for the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), said the robbery suspect was also killed in the collision, which involved at least six vehicles.All four people were pronounced dead at the scene on Highway 401 in Whitby, about 50 kilometres east of Toronto, Hudon

  • Guilty-Pleading Jan. 6 Participant Wildly Shows He Learned Nothing From Prison

    Derrick Evans, now running for Congress, gave a jaw-dropping interview to CNN.

  • Woman shot with 97 pieces of birdshot by neighbor while standing in her own yard

    A Pasco County woman said more than a year after she was shot by her neighbor while standing on her own property, she’s waiting for restitution and justice. Jessica Orlando was hit with dozens of pieces of birdshot after her neighbor shot her with a shotgun. The suspect claims he was shooting at her dogs.

  • Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 13-year-old boy and injuring 4 others

    LONDON (AP) — A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a east London suburb early Tuesday, killing a 13-year-old boy and injuring four others, authorities said. A 36-year-old man was arrested in a residential area near Hainault underground station, police said. The incident is not being treated as terror-related or a “targeted attack.” Two police officers were in hospital being treated for stab wounds. Two other people were also injured. Chief Supt. Stuart Bel

  • Suzanne Morphew, mother who went missing on bike ride, died by homicide: Autopsy

    Suzanne Morphew, the Colorado mom who went missing on a bike ride in May 2020, died by homicide, according to an autopsy released Monday, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. Barry Morphew, Suzanne's husband, was charged with her murder in 2021, but those charged were dropped in April 2022 just before a trial was supposed to begin. "The Colorado Bureau of Investigation and our law enforcement partners understand and appreciate the public interest surrounding this case," CBI Director Chris Schaefer said in a statement Monday.

  • 16-Year-Old Child of Billionaire Slack Co-Founder Found Alive in San Francisco Days After Going Missing

    Mint Butterfield, the teenage child of Slack's billionaire co-founder Stewart Butterfield and Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake, was first reported missing nearly one week ago

  • Niagara developer and his company fined $150K after selling new homes illegally: HCRA

    Ontario's homebuilders and vendors regulator has fined a Niagara man and his development company $150,286 after they were found guilty of selling new homes illegally.The Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) previously provided documents to CBC outlining the 26 charges against Christopher Lamb and Novel Condominiums.The documents state Novel Condominiums entered into 26 agreements of purchase and sale for homes at 6591 Montrose Rd. before becoming registered as a vendor under the Ontario

  • Toronto man pleads guilty to helping criminal organization tied to murder of Hamilton real estate agent

    When Jamal Chemin was hired by a criminal organization to put a tracking device on Giorgio Barresi's BMW in 2020, he wasn't aware it would lead to the murder of the Hamilton real estate agent, says the Crown.Chemin, 42, was initially charged last year with the first-degree murder of Barresi, a 42-year-old married father of three who was shot multiple times on his Stoney Creek driveway in 2020. Sorossa Moude, 28, was also charged with Barresi's murder and his case remains before the courts.Last m

  • Judge Rules On Trump’s Alleged Gag Order Violations In Hush Money Trial

    Judge Juan Merchan warned the former president could face jail time if he continues to violate the directive.

  • Family of Black teen shot in head after ringing doorbell of wrong home sues gunman and HOA

    The family of the Black teenager who was shot in the head after ringing the doorbell of the wrong home in Kansas City, Missouri, last year, filed a lawsuit Monday against the White man who shot him and the residential homeowners association where the house is located.

  • 3 law officers killed, 5 others wounded trying to serve warrant in North Carolina, authorities say

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Three officers on a U.S. Marshals Task Force serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded in a shootout Monday at a North Carolina home, police said. The officers were first shot at by the wanted suspect as they approached the suburban home in Charlotte and they killed him in the front yard, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said at a news conference. A second person then fired on officers f

  • Women killed man who took bag from their car near Wynwood, police say. They’re jailed

    Fredericka Sherice Pickett-Wilson, 29, and Antwoinse Lachaveia Clark, 36, are facing second-degree murder charges.

  • Hamilton police officer who assaulted Indigenous man in 'disturbing' act to be demoted for 1 year

    WARNING: This story contains distressing details.A Hamilton police officer will stay on the force after he violently assaulted an Indigenous man, kicking him in the head during his arrest. Brian Wren will be demoted in rank from first to second-class constable for one year and then will be reinstated to his current position, said Greg Walton, a retired Ontario Provincial Police Officer who chaired Wren's disciplinary hearing last week. As a result, Wren will earn around $14,000 less per year. Wa

  • Brother shoots and kills sister while aiming for a different woman, Texas cops say

    Police said the man was aiming for the woman his sister was fighting with at a Houston gas station.

  • Survivor of Okla. Family Murder-Suicide, 10, Is 'Surrounded by Love’ in Aftermath of Horror

    Oklahoma City police said the boy called 911 on the morning of April 22 after discovering five bodies in his home

  • Teenager who stabbed Alfie Lewis, 15, tells jury he was scared for his life

    The 15-year-old defendant has told a court he did not realise he had hurt Alfie as he swung a knife aimlessly in the air to keep him away.

  • 14-Year-Old Boy Accidentally Fatally Shoots 11-Year-Old Brother: 'He Had So Much Potential'

    Amir Williams died at the scene in his St. Petersburg, Florida home

  • Arrest made in White Rock, B.C., waterfront homicide case

    Homicide investigators have announced a man has been arrested in relation to a fatal stabbing along the White Rock, B.C., promenade last week.Kulwinder Singh Sohi, 26, was fatally stabbed along the waterfront on Tuesday night, in what was the second stabbing in the area in three days.The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said Monday in a statement that a 28-year-old man was arrested in Surrey, B.C., in connection with the stabbing.IHIT said they arrested the man with the assistance o

  • What happened in Hainault today? Everything we know and full police statement as boy killed

    A 14-year-old boy has died and two police officers have "significant injuries" after an attack near a tube station in northeast London. A man reportedly crashed a vehicle into a house in Thurlow Gardens, a road near Hainault tube station, shortly before 7am, and then allegedly stabbed a number of people, police said in a statement this morning.