Witnesses wanted after shots fired at Lapland train

The VR train was travelling south towards Oulu when at least two shots were fired, splintering the glass in a dining carriage and a passenger carriage.

0
626
Facebook
WhatsApp
Picture of fractured window on VR train, hit by bullet / Credit: Lapland Police

Police are appealing for witnesses after someone shot at a VR train.

The incident happened on Tuesday around 19:30 on the line going south between Ylitornio and Pello on the border with Sweden.

At that area, the train track runs close to a river and the tree line, and police say at least two shots were fired hitting two different windows of the train, as it traveled at 80km per hour. Police think the shots were fired at a distance of only 30 metres.

Although the shots didn’t go through the glass, they did cause it to crack on a restaurant car and on a passenger car.

Police are not sure if the shooting was deliberate or happened accidentally during hunting and are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

After the incident, the train continued south to its next regularly scheduled stop in Oulu, where the damage was examined in more detail. Later, it went on to the final destination Helsinki.