One dead, 10 injured as swordsman attack Finnish Vocational College

A student has been confirmed dead while 10 others were injured after a sword-wielding man attacked students of a vocational college in eastern Finland on Tuesday, October 1.

The ‘swordsman’ reportedly walked in on a class shortly after midday, pulled a sword out of his bag before attacking the teacher, the Iltahlehti news website reported. As she tried to flee, students threw chairs at the attacker in an attempt to escape and some were wounded.

The suspect said to be a Finnish citizen, was also carrying a gun in the attack that also left him injured after being confronted by local policemen who fired two shots. Two victims of the attack are said to be in critical conditions.

“One dead body has been found at the college premises of Kuopio Herman,” police said.

The wounded have been taken to Kuopio university hospital where a major disaster alert is underway.

“He hit a girl in the neck with a sword and stabbed her in the stomach,” an unnamed eyewitness told Keskisuomalainen newspaper. The attacker also set off “some sort of small firebombs”, the eyewitness said.

The Police are yet to confirm a motive for the attack or whether the suspect is a student at the college. Commenting on the attack, Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne described it as “shocking and utterly reprehensible”.