Finland stabbings: Two dead and suspect shot in Turku

Two people have been killed and at least six others wounded in a stabbing in Turku in south-west Finland, say police.

Police, who were on the scene within minutes, shot the suspected attacker and arrested him.

He has been taken into custody.

The attack took place in the Puutori-Market Square area of Turku. Police initially asked people to stay away from the city centre but then said the incident was over.

Interior Minister Paula Risikko described the suspect as "foreign-looking" and linked the attack to the murder of 14 people in Barcelona. Finnish authorities have said, however, that it is too early to describe the incident as terrorism.

The attack was over in a matter of minutes.

Police said the alarm was raised at 16:02 local time (13:02 GMT) and that the suspect was arrested three minutes later.

Eyewitness Jesse Brown told the BBC: "I saw police shoot a person, a man I think. People were running and there was talk about a knife attack, possibly multiple perpetrators."

A later Twitter post by police read: "The police are searching for possibly more perpetrators in Turku."

Briton Lee Hills, from Sunderland, sent the BBC a photograph of the scene of the incident. He was being kept in police lockdown in a pub about 200m from the scene.

Another witness, student Anttoni Numminen, said he had been playing pool in a bar when he heard gunshots. People began rushing into the bar, he said, and "the place immediately went on lockdown".

Finland's Prime Minister Juha Sipila said his government was monitoring the situation closely. The interior minister and national police commissioner also said they were travelling to the city.

Security was also increased at key sites in the southern capital of Helsinki, where armed police could be seen at the central train station and the airport.

Source: BBCNews