The Kuopio school stabbing occurred on 1 October 2019 at Savo Vocational College in

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

Northern Savonia North Savo (or Northern Savonia; fi, Pohjois-Savo; sv, Norra Savolax) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the regi ...

, Finland. Armed with a

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

, 25-year-old student Joel Otto Aukusti Marin killed a female student and wounded nine others. He also carried an

air pistol The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

which was not used during the attack; it was initially mistaken for a real firearm. The attack ended when a policeman shot and wounded Marin.

Attack

The attack began in a classroom at Savo Vocational College, located in the premises of the Herman shopping mall. Students in the classroom described how Marin arrived to class with a "long bag", took out a

longsword A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximatel ...

and began stabbing people. Police were alerted at 12:29. The attack lasted for at least eight minutes, during which Marin stabbed ten people. The only fatality was a 23-year-old

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

-born woman who was a student at the college. During the attack, a fire was started in the building, presumably by Marin, but it was quickly extinguished. The attack ended when a policeman shot and severely wounded Marin, who was sent to the

Kuopio University Hospital Kuopio University Hospital (KUH; fi, Kuopion yliopistollinen sairaala, KYS, sv, Kuopio universitetssjukhus) is a teaching hospital of the University of Eastern Finland along Puijonlaaksontie at the Puijonlaakso district in Kuopio, Finland. It ...

for treatment. The policeman was also wounded.

Perpetrator

Joel Otto Aukusti Marin (born 1994) was a student at Savo Vocational College. The police found several incendiary devices similar to a

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...

when they searched Marin's apartment after the attack. Based on preliminary information, he had no previous criminal record. Marin had moved to Kuopio from the municipality of

Siilinjärvi Siilinjärvi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in Northern Savonia, north of the city of Kuopio, which largely surrounds Siilinjärvi. Another neighbour municipality with Kuopio is Lapinlahti. The name, in Finnish, apparently transla ...

at some point after

matriculating Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

in 2014. He had been regularly

bullied Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imbal ...

since primary school for reasons such as his clothing and being overweight. He was described as quiet and lonely. Marin had participated in shooting courses at the Kuopio Shooting Club.

Aftermath

The

Finnish Parliament The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

(''eduskunta'') held a minute-long

moment of silence A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of ...

the day after the attack to honor the victims.

Finnish Prime Minister The prime minister of Finland ( fi, Suomen pääministeri; ) is the leader of the Finnish Government. The prime minister and their cabinet exercise executive authority in the state. The prime minister is formally Finnish order of precedence, r ...

Antti Rinne Antti Juhani Rinne (; born 3 November 1962) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from June to December 2019, and served as Leader of the Social Democratic Party between 2014 and 2020. Biography A lawyer by profession, ...

called the violence "shocking and completely unacceptable" and visited Kuopio on 4 October. In November 2020 the perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment.

References

{{coord missing, Finland 2019 in Finland 2019 murders in Finland Attacks in Finland School stabbing Mass stabbings in Europe October 2019 crimes in Europe Stabbing attacks in Finland School killings in Finland