12-year-old Child Opens Fire At Other Pupils In School

A 12-year-old pupil opened fire at a primary school on Tuesday.

Gatekeepers News reports that the shooting happened at the Viertola school in Vantaa, a suburb of Helsinki, in Finland which has around 800 pupils from first to ninth grade and a staff of 90, according to the municipality.

Preliminary reports from the police disclosed that three persons were wounded, and one of the victims later died.

Police said the suspect’s arrest happened peacefully, in the suburb of Siltamaki, away from the school.

According to the authorities, the suspect and the weapon were now in police custody. There were no other suspects for now.

At the school, a building had been cordoned off by police. Parents were picking up their children from another school building hundreds of metres (yards) away.

The children had just returned to classes like other Finnish schools after the Easter break.

Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said on X: “The day started in a horrifying way… I can only imagine the pain and worry that many families are experiencing at the moment. The suspected perpetrator has been caught.”
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the shooting was deeply shocking.

“My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones and the other students and staff,” he said on X.