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Photo; Two dead, eight wounded in knife attack in Finland

TURKU, Finland,  Reuters, AUG. 18, 2017 – A man with a knife killed two people and wounded eight others in a stabbing rampage in a market square in the Finnish city of Turku on Friday, police said.

Police shot the suspected attacker in the leg and arrested him. They said they had yet to establish the identity of the man who was of foreign origin, or his motive.

A witness told Reuters she had seen a man stabbing a woman and other people sobbing at what they had seen after running away in terror.

Police warned people to stay away from the city and reinforced security nationwide, with increased patrols and more surveillance, in case more people were involved. People were allowed to return to the city center a few hours later.

“At this stage, there is only one suspect and we are investigating whether there are more people involved … but it looks likely (he was alone),” Markus Laine from the National Bureau of Investigation said.

“For now we do not investigate this (as a terrorist attack) but the possibility has not been ruled out,” he told a news conference.

Police said they would hold the next news conference in Turku on Saturday at 1100 GMT.

People laid candles and flowers at the scene of the attack in the evening.

Laura Laine, who saw the stabbing from a nearby outdoor cafe, also returned to the square.

 

 Candles at Turku Market Square for the victims of Friday’s stabbings are pictured in Turku, Finland August 18, 2017

 

“First thing we heard was a young woman, screaming like crazy. I thought it’s just kids having fun … but then people started to move around and I saw a man with a knife in his hand, stabbing a woman,” she told Reuters.

“Then a person ran toward us shouting ‘he has a knife’, and everybody from the terrace ran inside.”

“Next, a woman came in to the cafe. She was crying hysterically, down on her knees, saying someone’s neck has been slashed open.”

The eight wounded were taken to hospital, police said.

“The act is utterly deplorable and an exceptionally serious violent offense in the Finnish context – it is deeply shocking for us all,” Prime Minister Juha Sipila said in a statement after holding a conference call with his government.

Finland is usually peaceful but the Security Intelligence Service raised the terrorism threat level in June to elevated from low, saying it had become aware of terrorism-related plans in Finland.

The government has grown more concerned about attacks, partly since an Uzbek man killed four people in neighboring Sweden in April by driving a hijacked truck into crowd in central Stockholm.

On Thursday, a suspected Islamist militant drove a van into crowds in Barcelona, Spain, killing 13 people and wounding scores of others.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “It is with great concern that I have learned of the violent attacks in Turku, Finland. While details are still emerging, we strongly condemn this unprovoked attack which comes only 24 hours after the horror that unfolded in Spain.”

  One person – thought to be the suspect – is put on a stretcher and wheeled awa

    One person – thought to be the suspect – is put on a stretcher and wheeled away

 

    People gather to help a person who was attacked by a knifeman on Friday afternoon in Finland

        People gather to help a person who was attacked by a knifeman on Friday afternoon in Finland

 

  This is the moment the suspect was shot and fell to the floor before police detained him

   This is the moment the suspect was shot and fell to the floor before police detained him

 

 Several people covered in blood were seen moments after the attack in Turku

    Several people covered in blood were seen moments after the attack in Turku

 

 Hassan Zubier was stabbed as he tried to help another woman during the knife rampage

   Hassan Zubier was stabbed as he tried to help another woman during the knife rampage

 The shrouded body of a stabbing victim on the Market Square

   The shrouded body of a stabbing victim on the Market Square

 

   The 'suspect' is seen being treated by police after falling to the floor

    The ‘suspect’ is seen being treated by police after falling to the floor

 The man was shot in the leg before being arrested and taken into custody

  The man was shot in the leg before being arrested and taken into custody

 

 A victim of the attack sits on the road after being bandaged up by medics

    A victim of the attack sits on the road after being bandaged up by medics

 

A police cordon separates crowds from what appears to be a covered body on the ground

   A police cordon separates crowds from what appears to be a covered body on the ground

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