Guardian recounts horror of Viertola school shooting involvement in police interrogation

Upon returning home, the guardian of the perpetrator of the Viertola school shooting found their residence full of police officers waiting for them. During police interrogations, the guardian recounted seeing news reports about the shooting incident. “I told my boss that I was leaving work. I intended to go pick up my son, hoping he had returned home following the shooting,” they explained. Upon arriving home, they learned that their son was suspected of being involved in the incident.

“My bewilderment was immense—a shocking horror; it was utterly incomprehensible,” said the guardian, who described the harrowing events of that day during police questioning. According to the preliminary investigation report, the other guardian was at work when alerted with a message asking whether their son was at Jokivarren School. After checking online news, they saw the reports of the shooting.

“I feared something had happened to my son.” They called the other guardian to inquire if they had heard from their child, but were met with silence. Later, a close relative of the suspect called and mentioned they couldn’t find their firearm. Notably, this was the same weapon used during a shooting incident the previous weekend.

“It was frightening at that moment, yet I still didn’t want to believe it,” the guardian stated during the police questioning. When asked how they felt upon realizing their child might be the perpetrator rather than a victim, they replied, “It was horrible; it was a total shock.” In the police report, the guardians are referred to by alphanumeric designations, preventing Yle from identifying which one is the mother and which is the father.