VANTAA, Finland – One student was fatally shot and two others were seriously injured by another student at a school in a Helsinki suburb Tuesday morning. Both the victims and the suspected shooter are 12 years old.
The shooting happened in a classroom at Viertola primary school as students returned from Easter weekend, reports the BBC. Immediately after the attack, the suspected shooter fled on foot but was later apprehended by police, reports CNN. The suspect was carrying a handgun that was used in the attack and was legally owned by a close relative. After being caught by police, the suspect admitted to carrying out the shooting, but the motive hasn’t been determined.
Heavily armed local law enforcement arrived at the school within nine minutes and immediately began treating all three victims, one of whom died at the scene. The rest of the campus went into lockdown, as did other schools in the area.
After questioning, the suspect will be placed in the care of social services, reports the BBC. In Finland, children under the age of 15 are not criminally liable.
The rate of gun ownership in Finland is among the highest in the world, and hunting is a popular past time in the country. Despite the higher rate of firearm ownership, school shootings are very rare in Finland, reports CNN.
Following two mass shootings in 2007 and 2008, the country issued new guidelines that are currently in effect on the ownership and use of handguns and revolvers, reports CNN. Applicants for gun licenses in Finland must now prove they’ve been active in a gun club for one year and be vetted by their physician and law enforcement.