Man with 'far-right ties' arrested for knife attacks on two children in Finland

A 33-year-old man with far-right ties was arrested for stabbing a 12-year-old in Oulu’s Valkea shopping center on Thursday evening.

A man suspected of stabbing and seriously wounding a 12-year-old in Finland has been arrested on Thursday.

Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported that intelligence officials have identified the 33-year-old suspect as having ties to far-right extremism.

According to local authorities, the incident occurred around 6:30 pm on Thursday in the Valkea shopping center in Oulu, where a 12-year-old Finnish victim with a foreign background sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The Finnish police said the criminal investigation is at an early stage and the exact motive for the act is still unknown.

“A man born in 1990 is suspected of having stabbed the 12-year-old victim from behind several times. After that he tried to go after a minor who was in the company of the other victim of stabbing,” the police statement said.

Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo condemned what he described as “the brutal attack on children”.

“Far-right violence is a real threat in Finland. There is no room for extremism of any kind in this country. The government acts determinedly against extremism and violence”. he wrote on a post in X.

The court will review the suspect’s case for two counts of attempted murder on June 17.