Finland school shooting was likely planned, police say
- The 12-year-old suspect had told police he had ‘been the victim of bullying’ and that this had motivated the act
- A boy, also aged 12, died at the scene while two injured girls remain in hospital
A 12-year-old boy suspected of shooting and killing a classmate and wounding two girls at a school in Finland, had likely planned the act, police said on Thursday.
Finland is still reeling from the shock of the shooting that occurred on Tuesday morning at a school in the country’s fourth-largest city Vantaa, just north of the capital Helsinki.
“The preliminary investigation has revealed facts that suggest that the act was planned,” detective inspector Marko Sarkka, who leads the investigation, said in a statement.
“Searches of devices seized from the suspect’s possession, such as a telephone and a computer, have revealed material that support this view,” Sarkka added.
Police said on Wednesday that the young suspect during questioning had said he had “been the victim of bullying” and that this had motivated the act.
Police also said the boy had only been a student at the Viertola school since the beginning of the year.