Police investigate whether Oulu stabbing followed other attacks

Yle reports that police are investigating whether a man suspected of stabbing a passer-by in Oulu on Friday had threatened or assaulted anyone else before the attack.

The man, who is about 30, has been remanded in custody on suspicion of attempted murder and two assaults. Police are checking whether anyone else was threatened or harmed on 6 November.

According to current information, the man attacked three people near a K-market on Rautatienkatu in Oulu. Police say he first kicked one person in the back without warning, then hit another.

A short time later, the suspect took a knife about half a metre long from his backpack and struck a man he encountered several times. Police say the two did not know each other. The victim suffered serious injuries.

The suspect, who was born in 1995, was arrested soon after the stabbing. He told police that a verbal dispute with the people he encountered led to the attack. The other people involved have given a different account.