Naantali spa shooting put people at risk, police say

A shooting at Naantali Spa on Saturday put some people at the scene in direct danger, police said. The hotel’s director said staff followed their procedures during the incident, Yle reported.

Police have detained four people in connection with the shooting. Investigators plan to interview witnesses in the coming days, said Jari Klaus, the lead investigator with Southwest Finland Police.

The hotel was not evacuated, but customers at its Tammikellari restaurant were asked to go outside temporarily. Hotel director Eerika Rinne said they returned about 10 minutes later, once it was clear the situation had passed.

Rinne said the hotel reviewed the evening’s events at a staff meeting on Monday and found no shortcomings in how employees had acted. Staff and customers received crisis support from the Finnish Red Cross and the crisis support unit of Southwest Finland’s wellbeing services county on Saturday; the unit was also at the hotel on Sunday.

A shooting also took place at Naantali Spa on New Year’s Eve in 2011. That incident ended quickly, and no one was injured.