Finland: Stabbing attack near Tampere shopping center leaves four injured; suspect says ‘attacked 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. Bloodstains are seen outside the Ratina shopping centre in Tampere, Finland, Thursday July 3, 2025, after several people were stabbed. (Saara Peltola/Lehtikuva via AP)
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.
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.
(This is a developing story. Keep checking for more updates)
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