Two dead after stabbing attack in Turku

Two people died and at least six others were injured yesterday after a man went on a stabbing spree in Finland’s western city of Turku.

The man was shot in the leg by police officers and detained. The authorities said they were looking for more potential suspects.

Finland’s interior minister said that security was being stepped up across the Nordic country.

Finnish broadcaster YLE said that several people were seen lying on the ground in Puutori square in central Turku. On Twitter, police urged people to avoid that part of the city.

Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat said six people had been injured, a man and five women, and that a woman with stroller was attacked by a man wielding a large knife.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said that the government was closely monitoring the ongoing police operation and would be holding an emergency meeting later yesterday.

Witness Laura Laine told broadcaster YLE that she had been standing approximately 20 metres (65 feet) from where the stabbing took place.

“We heard a young woman screaming. We saw a man on the square and a knife glittered. He was waving it in the air. I understood that he had stabbed someone,” Laine was quoted as saying.

Finnish television channel MTV said that security had been heightened at Helsinki’s international airport but didn’t give details.

“Police have told us not to go to the city centre so we are in this coffee shop a few blocks away from the city centre,” said Vanessa Deggins, an American studying business at one of Turku’s three universities. She didn’t witness the actual attack, but heard sirens going past.

“This is a safe country by American standards. I have gone home alone at 2-3am... I feel safe. This is a safe country.”