Finnish police have said they have shot and arrested a man who stabbed several people in a market square in the south-west city of Turku.
At least one person was seen lying on the ground at Turku’s Puutori market square and others were reported to be hurt, according to YLE Uutiset, the main news programme of Finland’s public broadcaster.
The Turun Sanomat newspaper reported that at least one person was killed in the attack on Friday and that police were inspecting departing trains and buses.
There were four or five ambulances near the city’s main square, the paper reported a witness as saying.
Police said several people had been stabbed and asked the public to avoid the area. A suspected assailant has been shot in the leg and detained.
Finnish police said they reinforced security at Helsinki airport and train stations after the stabbings.
At about 4:40 pm, south-west Finland police tweeted: “Several people stabbed in central Turku. People are requested to avoid the city centre.”
Finland’s prime minister, Juha Sipilä, tweeted: “The government is closely following the events in Turku and the ongoing police operation. The government will meet later today.”
