Finland Police Shoot Man Who Stabbed Several People in Turku City

Emergency services working in Turku Market Square in Turku, Finland, on Friday after the knife attack. (Facebook via AP)

Copenhagen, Denmark: A man stabbed several people in Finland’s western city of Turku before police shot him in a leg and detained him Friday, police said, adding that authorities were looking for more potential suspects.

Finnish broadcaster YLE says several people were seen lying on the ground in Puutori square in central Turku. On Twitter, police urged people to avoid that part of Turku.

One person has been “apprehended,” Finnish police said, adding “several people had been stabbed.” Their conditions weren’t immediately available.

 

Turku Market Square on Friday, August 18, 2017, with a yellow ambulance on the corner of the square (behind red car). (Lehtikuva via AP)

Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat says six people were injured, one man and five women, and that a woman with stroller was attacked by a man with a large knife.

Prime Minister Juha Sipila said the government was closely monitoring the ongoing police operation and holding an emergency meeting later Friday.

Police planned a news conference at 7 p.m. (1500 GMT; 11 a.m. EDT) in Turku, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) west of Helsinki.