Finland: The suspect arrested in connection with the Tampere stabbing attack that injured four, told police that he had no racist or political motive, and that he attacked people randomly.
“According to (our) current information, there is no reason to suspect that the act had a terrorist or racist motive,” AFP quoted the police as saying.
At least four people were injured on Thursday evening, July 3 (local time) in the stabbing attack outside the crowded Ratina shopping mall in the southern Finnish city of Tampere.
On Friday, the police said the suspect, who had been arrested is a 23-year-old Finnish man with a previous criminal history.
The injuries of the victims are serious, reported AFP.
Blood stains scene at the site
Following the incident, a large pool of blood was visible outside a restaurant and blood trailed from the mall to a nearby highway.
Workers used pressure washers to clean up blood stains outside the mall, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported.
Earlier, the police had sealed all the entrances and exits of Ratina shopping mall and people weren’t allowed to enter or leave the centre. But by early evening, police said they had lifted a lockdown and left the scene.
Tampere, about 160 kilometres north of Helsinki, is known as the sauna capital of the world.
What we know about the suspect
Police had been alerted about the stabbing at 4:23 pm (1323 GMT), on Thursday, July 3.
The person arrested in connection with the case is a man in his 20s, reported AFP, citing the Ilta-Sanomat.
When ordered by the police, the suspect had raised his hands and then laid down on the ground without resistance, eye witnesses told Ilta-Sanomat.
Police said it had finished checking the scene’s surroundings, and questioning witnesses. The area outside the Ratina shopping centre was no longer cordoned off.
Several police cars and ambulances rushed to the scene after the violence, local media reported.
