A shooting took place near a cinema in Helsinki’s Kamppi district late on Monday evening. Here’s what we know so far.
POLICE SUSPECT a teenage boy in the shooting at Helsinki’s Kamppi Tennispalatsi movie theater (Finnkino) at quarter to nine on Monday evening.
Detective Inspector Ritva Elomaa of the Helsinki police told Finnish media that the people in the cinema were “potentially at risk.”
The police suspect the 16-year-old of attempted manslaughter and weapons charges. The victim was a 19-year-old man suspected of a drug offense. The victim is not a Finnish citizen.
The suspected shooter and the victims were running inside the building, said Pia Strömsholm, the regional operations manager of Finnkino movie theater.
According to Strömsholm, the employees who were there called the emergency services because they saw the runners wearing bulletproof vests and carrying a gun.
Detective Inspector Elomaa estimated that without the vests, the victim could have been seriously injured.
However, according to Strömsholm, the gun was not pointed at the employees, but they were very close to the incident.
“Despite his age, the suspect in the shooting has a long criminal record. He has a history of serious violent crimes and aggravated offenses,” Elomaa said to the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat.
The young man, according to the police, was from out of town. He had run away from a child protection unit.
On Tuesday evening, when Finland Today visited the scene, people and staff in the movie theater went about their business peacefully.
Noticeably, no Christmas songs were played.
