The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) says there’s no clear motive yet for a sword attack in Kuopio on Tuesday afternoon that left one woman dead and ten other people wounded.
NBI took over the investigation from the local East Finland Police force.
“At the moment we have no information about the motive and the cause of the violence, and the police continues to investigate” says NBI Detective Chief Inspector Olli Töyräs.
“The police view is that the suspect acted alone and it is not, for example, organised crime” he adds.
Töyräs confirms that police fired two shots to stop the suspect when he did not obey commands from officers. The suspect is reported to be in a serious condition in hospital in Kuopio.
Suspect named in Finnish media
Finnish media outlets have named the suspect in the attack as Joel Otto Aukusti Marin, a 25-year old originally from Siilinjärvi who had lived in Kuopio for several years and studied at Savo Vocational College where the attack took place.
Neighbours have described him as a quiet person who kept to himself.
Police have not officially named the suspect, but say he had no previous criminal history.
He was armed with a bladed saber-like weapon and an air pistol during the attack; and police discovered a number of incendiary devices at his apartment during a search on Tuesday afternoon.
