Finnish police declared today that the 12-year-old boy suspected of shooting and killing a classmate while injuring two others was a victim of bullying and said this had driven him to commit the act.
‘The motive for the act has been identified as bullying. The suspect has told the police during interrogations that he has been the victim of bullying and this information has also been confirmed in the police’s preliminary investigation,’ police said in a statement.
They added that the young suspect had been transferred to the Viertola comprehensive school in Vantaa at the beginning of the year and struggled to integrate with his new classmates.
It comes hours after a group of mourners gathered outside the school this morning to pay tribute to the child who was shot dead.
The two 12-year-old girls injured in the attack remain in hospital, according to Finnish press. One is a Finnish citizen and the other has dual Finnish-Kosovan citizenship.
Yesterday’s attack shocked the Nordic nation, where Finnish blue-and-white flags were hoisted at half-staff and scores of people including parents, teachers and fellow students laid flowers and lit candles in the snowy landscape near the school building where the shooting occurred.
The Finnish government declared Wednesday a nationwide day of mourning, ordering all state agencies and institutions to lower the national flag to half-staff.
Many private households across Finland joined in the commemoration.
This is the moment a 12-year-old boy was arrested by Finnish police with a firearm on the ground beside him after one child was shot dead and two others were seriously wounded in a classroom gun rampage this morning
Armed Finnish police investigate the scene at the primary school Viertola comprehensive school where a child opened fire and injured three other children, on April 2, 2024 in Vantaa
On Tuesday, heavily armed police cordoned off the Viertola school, an 800-student secondary school in the city of Vantaa, just outside Helsinki
Candles and flowers are placed in front of the Viertola School to pay tribute to victims in Vantaa, in the north of the Finnish capital Helsinki, on April 3, 2024
The shooting occurred in the city of Vantaa – just outside the capital of Helsinki
Heavily armed police on Tuesday cordoned off the Viertola school, an 800-student secondary school in the city of Vantaa, just outside Helsinki.
Police said the deceased boy died instantly after being shot.
The suspect was detained in the Helsinki area less than an hour after the shooting, with a handgun in his possession.
Footage of his arrest showed how the boy knelt down to the ground as police arrived on the scene and complied immediately with officers.
The minimum age of criminal liability in Finland is 15 years, which means the suspect cannot be formally arrested.
A suspect younger than 15 can only be questioned by the police before they are handed over to child welfare authorities.
The gun was licensed to a relative of the suspect who was not immediately identified. Police said he admitted to the shooting in an initial police hearing.
Investigators said the suspect had been studying at the new school for 11 weeks prior to the shooting.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the shooting was deeply shocking.
He encouraged parents to comfort their children and help alleviate any fears about further such attacks.
‘I want to tell children and young people all over Finland that the Finnish authorities and school staff are doing everything they can every day to prevent something like this from happening,’ Orpo said in a statement.
Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said yesterday 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.’
People gather outside Viertola school in Vantaa, after a shooting took place there earlier in the day, in a suburb of the capital Helsinki, Finland April 2, 2024
People attend a service at the Tikkurila church in Vantaa, Finland, on April 2
Mourners attend a service at the Tikkurila church in Vantaa, Finland, after the shooting
Finland has witnessed two major deadly school shootings in 2007 and 2008.
In their wake, the country tightened its gun laws, raising the minimum age for firearms ownership and giving police greater powers to perform background checks on individuals applying for a gun license.
The nation of 5.6 million has more than 1.5 million licensed firearms, and about 430,000 license holders, according to the Finnish Interior Ministry.
Hunting and gun ownership are deeply rooted traditions in this sparsely-populated northern European country, where target practice is also a widespread hobby.
