Finland school gun rampage: Moment boy, 12, is arrested with firearm on the ground beside him after one child is shot dead in classroom and two others seriously wounded

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.

Police initially said that three minors were injured in the attack and taken to hospital, but later announced that one had died. The deceased had died instantly after being shot, chief of police Ilkka Koskimaki from the Eastern Uusimaa Police Department told a news conference. The other two were seriously wounded, he said.

Heavily armed police cordoned off the Viertola lower secondary school, which teaches around 800 students in the city of Vantaa - just outside the capital of Helsinki - after receiving a call about a shooting incident at 9.08am local time. 

The male suspect was later detained, police said, with Finnish broadcaster MTV Uutiset reporting that police caught up with the suspect a 50-minute walk from the school in the direction of Helsinki to the south.

Video circulating on social media showed two police officers kneeling at the side of the suspected shooter who was lying face down on a sidewalk, with what appears to be a firearm on the ground.

One witness described seeing the 'small' and 'hooded' minor drop something to the floor before kneeling down as police arrived to arrest them.

The suspect was found in possession of a firearm, reports said, and is now under investigation for murder and two attempted murders.

However, the suspect is unlikely to be prosecuted on account of their age, with the minimum age of criminal liability in Finland being 15.

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

Multiple people have been wounded after a school shooting in Finland. Pictured: Police are seen working at at the site in Vantaa

Finnish police officers talk to family members of pupils at the primary Viertola comprehensive school where a child opened fire and injured three other children, on April 2, 2024 in Vantaa

Finnish police officers, police vehicles and an ambulance are seen at the primary school

The shooting occurred in the city of Vantaa - just outside the capital of Helsinki

Officials said that the shooter and the victims were all 12 years old.

Local news outlets quoted parents at the school as saying the shooting occurred inside a classroom. They said children called them from inside the school during the attack, and had described to them what had happened.

Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said in post to X (formerly Twitter ) that the day had started in a 'shocking way'. 'I can only imagine the pain and worry that many families are experiencing at the moment,' she said.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said he was 'deeply shocked', adding that his thoughts were with the victims, their relatives and the other students and staff.

A witness told the Iltalehti newspaper that shots echoed across the schoolyard.

'At first I didn't understand it was a weapon. Then a terrible scream could be heard and children ran across the yard,' the witness said.

The city of Vantaa's crisis group was activated following the shooting, and an investigation into the shooting has been launched. 

'All those involved in the shooting incident are minors. According to the police's current information, there are three injured,' a police statement said earlier, before it was announced that one of the victims had passed away.

Pictures from the school showed armed cops working at the scene, with police cars and ambulance parked in the playground which was locked down this morning.

According to two parents at the school who spoke to Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, frightened children called their parents from inside the building.

Shortly after noon, police had begun letting in parents who were waiting outside the school to see their children, according to an AFP video reporter at the scene. 

In addition to its 800 primary and middle-school aged students - who are between seven and 15 years old - about 90 staff work at the school.

Pupils and staff had just returned to school after the Easter holidays when the shooting began on Tuesday morning.

The police said in an earlier statement: 'Police are at the scene investigating the incident. Bystanders are asked to stay away from the area and indoors. 

'The door should not be opened to strangers,' it added. 

The Viertola school's principal Sari Laasila later told Reuters that 'the immediate danger is over', declining to comment further on the incident.

Armed and armoured Finnish police officers are seen outside the school this morning

Police vehicles are seen parked in the school's playground this morning

Helsingin Sanomat reported that the school is situated across two sites - or 'teaching points' - Liljatie Teaching Point and Jokiranta Teaching Point.

The publication reported that the shooting was carried out at the Jokiranta teaching point, which backs on to the Keravanjoki river.

The eyewitness told Helsingin Sanomat that two ambulances and police cars left the school at around 10am local time (7am GMT).

He said there had been several police cars at the scene.

Vantaa, Finland's fourth largest city, is found around ten miles north of the country's capital of Helsinki. It is home to around 250,000 people.

In the past decades, Finland has witnessed two major deadly school shootings.

In November 2007, a 18-year-old student armed with a semi-automatic pistol opened fire at the premises of the Jokela high school in Tuusula, southern Finland, killing nine people. He was found dead with self-inflicted wounds.

Less than a year later, in September 2008, 22-year-old student Matti Juhani Saari shot and killed 10 people with a semi-automatic pistol at a vocational college in Kauhajoki, southwestern Finland, before fatally shooting himself.

Since then, hundreds of schools have received shooting threats, according to an article published in the Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention. The article pointed to mental health problems as the main reason behind the increase.

The incident took place at Viertolan Koulu school in Vantaa early on Tuesday, which has around 800 students, Finnish police said in a statement

Police were called to the primary school at around 9am local time and a suspect has been detained, reports said. Locals have been told to keep away from the area

In the Nordic nation of 5.6 million, there are more than 1.5 million licensed firearms and about 430,000 license holders, according to the Finnish Interior Ministry. 

Hunting and gun-ownership have long traditions in the sparsely-populated northern European country.

Responsibility for granting permits for ordinary firearms rests with local police departments.

Following the school shootings in 2007 and 2008, Finland tightened its gun laws by raising the minimum age for firearms ownership and giving police greater powers to make background checks on individuals applying for a gun license.