Finnish school shooting motivated by bullying — Police

Police in Finland say the motive for the horrifying Viertola school shooting in Vantaa, on the outskirts of Helsinki was bullying.

The shooting left one child dead and two more seriously injured. The three victims, as well as the suspect who was detained yesterday morning, are all aged 12. Today (Wednesday, April 3) police revealed the suspect told them during interrogations he was the “subject of bullying”.

The police statement read: “The motive for the act has been found to be bullying. The suspect was told during interrogations that he was the target of bullying and this information has also been confirmed in the preliminary investigation by the police. The suspect had transferred to the Viertola school at the beginning of this year.”

Police said their investigations have revealed the suspect allegedly threatened students travelling to another school when he left Viertola school. “The police are investigating this incident as an unlawful threat,” police said.

The statement added: “After the shooting incident in Viertola, the police have come to the attention of an extraordinary number of different threats, all of which are thoroughly investigated by the police. These are very serious criminal cases.”

The minimum age of criminal liability in Finland is 15, meaning the suspect cannot be imprisoned. Police said the suspect has been handed over to the custody of the social authorities.

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