Police in Helsinki have shot an armed man after responding to an emergency call in the city’s Ruskeasuo neighbourhood.
It happened around 05:00 this morning in the north west part of the city. According to police, the man was spotted in the street with a gun. When they arrived on the scene, officers tried talking to him, but the situation escalated to the point where officers shot him.
The gunman has been taken to hospital, but his condition is not known.
The Prosecutor General will appoint an investigating officer, which is the standard procedure following an officer-involved firearms incident.
“According to the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Police Administration, such situations where a weapon is used, are always investigated and that investigation has now begun” says Juukka Haavisto from East Uusimaa prosecutor’s office.
Rare Use Of Police Firearms
Finnish police rarely fire their weapons. The last time was in Pirkanmaa in April, when a man in a car fired shots at officers. Two police officers then shot and killed the driver, and one of the police offers had non-life-threatening injuries.
The second widely publicized incident was in Turku in August 2017 when an officer fired at a man who had been on a stabbing rampage.
The officer shot Abderrahman Bouanane in the thigh. The suspect is currently on trial for the attack which left two people dead and eight others wounded.
