The police were alarmed through the emergency response centre at midnight that there was a person holding a gun at the Koskenparras pedestrian street. The nearest police patrol was just 300 metres away and drove to the place quickly.
As the patrol arrived on the site, the situation was chaotic. Three women had been shot dead in the street. The people at the site pointed out the perpetrator to the police. The suspect followed police orders and was apprehended by the police. He did not oppose to the apprehension and did not try to escape. The car of the suspect was on the scene as well. The alleged murder weapon was found in the boot of the car.
The suspect, a Finnish man born in 1993, living in Imatra, had shot his victims in the head or torso from close range. The victims died immediately on the site. According to what is known at the moment, the suspect fired 4-5 shots at victims selected at random. The suspect has a criminal record of violent offences etc.
The gun used in the shooting was a hunting rifle and had a permit, but it did not belong to the suspect. The police have an idea how the sucpect had obtained the weapon, but do not comment on it at the beginning of the investigation.
The victims have been identified. They were three Finnish women, living in Imatra, born in 1963, 1964 and 1980. One of them was the Chair of Imatra City Council and the other two were journalists. The police have delivered the sad news to the families of the victims this morning and they have been arranged crisis support. To respect the grieving of the victims' families no more information concerning the victims is given at the moment.
The crime scene investigation has been conducted during the night and the investigation has continued with interviewing witnesses and obtaining surveillance camera footage on the incident. The suspect himself has not been interviewed yet, so no knowledge of any motives for the act exists. In the investigation, no such facts have come up that there would be any political or extreme ideologist motives. The suspect and the victims probably did not know each other. The case is investigated as three counts of murder for the modus operandi and the possible systematic nature of the act.
The police will give more information on the case tomorrow.
