Helsinki: Finland will fly its flags at half-staff on Wednesday in national mourning after a 12-year-old boy opened fire at a school, killing a classmate and seriously injuring two others.
According to the Ministry of Interior website, all public buildings and institutions will lower their flags from 8:00 am (05:00 GMT).
The Ministry invites all countries to participate in this event.
A 12-year-old boy opened fire at his school in Vantaa, Finland’s fourth-largest city, on Tuesday morning.
The school has approximately 90 staff and 800 students aged seven to 15.
According to Finnish TV station MTV Uutiset, the boy was wearing a mask and headphones during the filming.
The 12-year-old boy who was killed also died in the incident and the suspect had already left the school when police arrived.
The gun-wielding suspect was arrested “in peace” within an hour of the shooting and admitted to being the shooter during initial questioning.
Police say there are no other suspects.
They said the gun the suspect was carrying belonged to a relative.
“The police are investigating, among other things, the motive and circumstances of the incident,” said Chief Detective Inspector Marco Sarcca, who led the investigation, in a statement on Tuesday.
Sarkka added that the boy will not be arrested or charged with a crime because he is under 15 years old.
Police also said that a crime scene investigation has begun at the school, which will continue on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the incident was “very sad” and his thoughts were with the victims, their parents, students, and other teachers.
“They may have fears or questions. We must talk about what happened at home.”
In a post on Alexander Stubb’s social media platform, Finland’s President X said he was “shocked” by the shooting.
“I want to express my deepest condolences to the families of the students who died,” Stubb said.
Finland’s Ombudsperson for Children’s Rights, Elina Pekkarinen, told Finland’s STT news agency that “for years (we) have been saying that we have to take violence between children in society seriously.”
Violence has increased over the years, especially among children under the age of 15.
Finland has witnessed several horrific school attacks in recent decades.
In January 2007, an 18-year-old man opened fire at a high school in Jokela, 50 km north of Helsinki, killing the principal and a nurse before turning the gun on himself.
A year later, in September 2008, Matti Juhani Saari, 22 years old, killed 11 people at a vocational school in the western city of Kauhajoki.
In October 2019, a student armed with a sword killed a 23-year-old woman and injured nine others at a vocational school in Kuopio.
