Bloodied man breaks into Vantaa home with crowbar

A 37-year-old man suspected of breaking windows at nearly 10 homes in Vantaa entered Irja Korhonen’s house carrying a crowbar on Friday evening, Yle reports. Police arrested him with the help of a dog unit.

Korhonen was on her balcony hanging seasonal lights when she heard a commotion outside. At first, she thought it was caused by people making noise in the courtyard. Then she saw a man running and heard banging and breaking glass.

She called emergency services. Several residents in Koivuhaka, a neighbourhood in Vantaa, contacted emergency services about the man after 6pm, police said on Monday. The man is suspected of damaging property at nearly 10 locations and seriously violating the sanctity of the home. Police believe he was under the influence of intoxicants.

Korhonen watched as the man continued breaking windows. She shouted at him to leave the courtyards. He then broke glass in her next-door neighbour’s backyard with the crowbar, climbed over a high fence between the properties and tried to reach Korhonen’s balcony.

She told him to go down, but he jumped into her backyard using outdoor furniture and broke a window. Korhonen ran downstairs, where her 83-year-old father was. She saw the confused, bleeding man inside the home.

He raised the crowbar several times, Korhonen said, but she managed to keep him in the entrance vestibule by ordering him to stay there. When she heard a dog bark outside, she thought police had arrived. The man asked whether she was calling him a taxi. Korhonen said she was, and told him to stay put or go outside.

Police then entered with a dog unit and arrested him. The incident was over quickly, Korhonen said, but there was glass and blood throughout the home. She praised the crisis support arranged by police, while saying the incident had left an emotional impact.

Korhonen said the neighbourhood had been peaceful but that substance-related problems and disturbances had increased over the past year. She called for more action to prevent problems. The officer leading the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Aurora Mäkinen, said police had seen nothing in the case to suggest residents had reason for broader concern.