One child dies during a shooting and two are seriously injured at a school in Finland

A 12-year-old boy has been killed and two of the same age have been seriously injured during a shooting at a Finnish primary school early Tuesday. The authorities claim to have arrested the perpetrator of the shooting, a 12-year-old schoolboy, the same age as all those who have been affected by the event, although at first the agents indicated that those involved were 13 years old. The shooting took place at the Viertola school in Vantaa, a city in the Helsinki metropolitan area, which has about 800 students and a staff of about 90 people, according to the local City Council.

The detainee has admitted responsibility after handing over the weapon peacefully, according to the police. The same sources indicate that the minor had a pistol whose weapons permit belongs to a close relative. Officers add that he had not been suspected of any previous crimes. And that the reasons for the attack are not clear. Regarding the deceased child, a police spokesperson said: “We understand that the victim died immediately.”

The Minister of Education, Anna-Maja Henriksson, burst into tears in a press conference hours after the shooting: “A 12-year-old child will never come home from school again,” she lamented. The two survivors were being treated for serious injuries, the Helsinki Regional Hospital District said in a statement in which it did not provide further details.

For her part, the Minister of the Interior, Mari Rantanen, wrote on the social network There has been a shooting at the Viertola school in Vantaa. I can only imagine the pain and worry many families are experiencing right now. The alleged perpetrator has been captured.” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the shooting was very shocking. “My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones, and the other students and staff,” he said in X.

Previous school shootings in Finland have put the country's gun policy in the spotlight. In 2007, then 18-year-old student Pekka-Eric Auvinen killed six students, the school's nurse and the director, before committing suicide using a pistol at Jokela High School, near Helsinki. A year later, in 2008, Matti Saari, another student, opened fire at a vocational school in Kauhajoki, located in northwest Finland. He killed nine students and one staff member before shooting himself.

Finland tightened its legislation in 2010, introducing a proficiency test for all firearms license applicants. The age limit was also changed, from 18 to 20 years. There are more than 1.5 million licensed firearms and about 430,000 license holders in this country of 5.6 million people, where hunting and target shooting are popular activities.

Follow all the international information on Facebook and xor in our weekly newsletter.