Shooting incident at Viertola school in Finland raises concerns over student safety

Students and teachers initially mistook the shooting incident at Viertola for a prank, according to police interviews in the ongoing investigation. Police have interviewed 28 students from the school, including one girl who was shot, as well as several teachers.

Describing the event, a student stated that the shooter had arrived in their classroom wearing a hoodie, a backpack, and headphones, with a scarf pulled over their face. The assailant first shot a boy seated at the front of the room twice before moving to the girl and firing at her. The shooter then approached another girl seated behind a partition and shot her as well.

Another student noted that the teacher attempted to intervene. “He yelled at the teacher not to come between them,” the student recounted to police, adding that the teacher tried to apprehend the shooter but was unsuccessful. “He [the shooter] was cold-blooded,” the student described.

Teachers played a crucial role in preventing further harm to the other children. According to police, the suspect had made a list of 15 students he intended to target. One teacher recalled confronting the shooter, saying, “I told him that it needed to stop or calm down.” Initially, the teacher did not realize that the weapon was real, as the sound it made was faint.

Realizing that verbal commands were ineffective, the teacher sought help from a colleague, who approached the shooter to calm him down. The suspect ultimately agreed to leave the classroom with the teacher, holding the weapon but not displaying violent behavior towards the teacher. Many students initially thought the situation was a prank and mistook the boy’s gun for a toy.

The suspect was a new student at the school, having joined just 11 weeks before the incident. The shot girl stated she had never spoken to the suspect, and after the shooting, all she could think was that it felt surreal, hoping it was just a dream.