Kuopio sword attacker acts alone

The young man who killed one and injured ten others with a sword on Tuesday in Kuopio, Eastern Finland, acted alone, but his grounds for the attack remained unclear, Finnish police said on Wednesday, reported news agency Xinhua.

Police said the violence was surprising as the attacker had successfully passed secondary education and had no criminal record.

The suspect was a 25-year-old ethnic Finn. He was a first-year student in the provincial vocational school.

The dead person and reportedly the target of the attack was a young woman of Ukrainian origin, studying in the same school, the Ukrainian embassy in Finland confirmed to Finland's national radio, Yle.

Police told media they did not know whether the lady and the suspect had been in contact outside the school.

The violence took place within one classroom. The suspect was wounded outside as police fired shots at him, Yle reported.

Seven of the ten injured were women. As of Wednesday evening, five remained in hospital, including the suspect.

Based on media interviews with his classmates, the suspect was described as a "loner" who did not have many friends.

The attack in Kuopio shocked the country as there had not been comparable school violence in Finland since 2008. The Finnish parliament began its Wednesday session with a moment of silence.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation launched investigation into the violent attack that took place at Savo Vocational College in Kuopio yesterday 1 October, said an official press release.

The investigation can confirm so far that a Finnish male student of Savo Vocational College born in 1994 attacked several people at the school premises in the shopping centre Herman with a sword.

Police suspect the male perpetrator of several murders and attempted murders. The exact number of offences will be established as the investigation continues.

Police reckon that the suspect acted alone; no motive has been established yet.

Crime scene investigation, numerous questionings and interviews have been conducted by police on Tuesday and Wednesday.

No motive or reasons for the violent attack have been established so far and they are under investigation. At the moment police consider the suspect acted alone and the act has no links to organised crime, Detective Chief Inspector Töyräs said.

Police fired off two shots during the incident in order to stop the suspect who did not follow policeman's orders. The use of firearms by police will be investigated by the National Prosecution Authority.

The National Bureau of Investigation will issue a new press release as the investigation proceeds and there are more details available about the act, at the latest on October 3.