Stabbing in Finland: 2 People Killed, 6 Injured

A man with a knife killed two people and wounded six in a stabbing rampage in a market square in the Finnish city of Turku on Friday, police said.

Police shot the stabber in the leg and arrested him. They said they had yet to establish the identity of the man, who appeared to be of foreign origin, or his motive.

Police initially warned people to stay away from the city and reinforced security nationwide, with increased patrols and more surveillance, in case more people were involved. A few hours later, police allowed people to return to the city center.

“At this stage, there is only one suspect and we are investigating whether there are more people involved … but it looks likely [that he was alone],” said Markus Laine from the National Bureau of Investigation.

“At this stage, we do not investigate this [as a terror attack], but the possibility has not been ruled out,” he told a news conference.

Interior Minister Paula Risikko said: “We have not been able to confirm the person’s identity… we have been in contact with the immigration service, as the person looks like a foreigner.”

Eyewitnesses described the panic at the scene.

“A man walked towards the ice cream stand where I work, and he hit a woman three times. He started running, went past my kiosk, and he had a knife in his hand,” Terttu Lehtinen told Reuters.

She said that some other men ran behind, apparently chasing him.

“We were sitting by the market square, just enjoying the afternoon. Suddenly people started screaming and yelling; they were hysterical,” said another witness, who gave her name only as Reetta.

Prime Minister Juha Sipila said: “My deepest condolences to the families and close-ones of the Turku victims. The events of the day are shocking us all.” He added that the government would meet later.