Police reveal heroic role played by teacher in Vantaa school shooting | Yle News

The 12-year-old suspect told police he had a “target list” of 15 people he believed were bullies and he intended to shoot as many of them as possible.

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Police investigating last spring’s fatal school shooting in Vantaa have revealed the important role a teacher played in persuading a 12-year-old suspect to leave the school grounds, thereby preventing further casualties.

One boy was killed and two girls were seriously injured when the suspect he opened fire with a gun in the sixth-grade classroom at Viertola School on the morning of April 2.

In the early stages of the investigation, it was reported that the suspect carried out the attack because he was intimidated, but police say now there is no evidence to support this claim.

During interrogation, the suspect told police he had a “target list” of 15 people he believed were stalkers and he intended to shoot as many of them as possible.

“You’re going out with me”

During the initial investigation, police interviewed 28 students and several teachers and say they have a clear understanding of the sequence of events that led to the tragedy.

A teacher who was in the classroom at the time of the shooting told police that the seriousness of the situation was not immediately apparent and it took many students some time to realize the gun was real.

Many students even thought the gun was part of an April Fool’s Day prank.

When the suspect began shooting, the teacher emerged from behind his desk and approached him, then pointed the gun at the teacher.

“I said something like, ‘Now you need to stop or calm down,'” the teacher told police.

When the boy did not respond, the teacher asked a nearby classmate for help.

“I approached him and told him to calm down and ‘let’s resolve this situation, but first we need to calm down,’” a second teacher at the scene recalled telling the suspect.

The suspect then said that no one was allowed to leave the classroom, but the other teacher gave him a counter-instruction.

“I said, ‘No, others are going somewhere else, and you’re going with me,'” the teacher recalls.

According to teachers and students interviewed by police, the suspect complied and began to leave.

While the suspect moved towards the door, the teacher who was initially in the classroom began moving students to another room and helping the injured. The first teacher also called emergency services.

He then left the school premises and was detained by police in the Siltamäki district of Helsinki.

He also told investigators that after running outside, he fired the gun into the air several times and also fired at a parked car.

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Suspect’s parent: “It was a terrible shock”

During the preliminary investigation, the police also interviewed the suspect’s parents.

One of the boy’s parents told police he was at work when he heard a news report about the Viertola school shooting. At first they thought the victim might have been their son.

“I told my boss I was leaving work now. I was going to go home and see if my son had gone there because of the shooting,” the parent told police.

However, when the parent arrived home, he was told that his son was suspected of being the perpetrator.

“It was a terrible shock, I couldn’t understand it,” the parent said.

Later, a close relative of the family called the parents and told them that their revolver was missing.

The suspect later told police that he had taken a revolver and ammunition from a relative’s gun locker a few days earlier.

“Then I started to get scared, but I still didn’t want to believe it,” the parent said when questioned by police.