Several people have been stabbed near a shopping centre in the southern Finnish city of Tampere, according to reports.
One person has been arrested by police, according to local media reports. Ilta-Sanomat reports the person in custody is a man in his 20s.
It was not immediately clear how many people were injured in the attack but police said the situation no longer posed a danger to others.
Victims were given first aid at the scene.
Police were called to the shopping centre at 4.23pm local time, newspaper Iltalehti reported.
An eyewitness told that news outlet said that people started shouting about stabbings and ran away from the shopping centre. The person said families and children were in the area.
“I heard the woman scream that she had been stabbed. So everyone started shouting about stabbing. I didn’t really have time to react because I was in such shock,” the eyewitness said in a translation.
Other eyewitnesses told Ilta-Sanomat they saw a man running who then went down on the ground without resistance when police told him to do so.
Video by Yle showed a heavy police presence and ambulances in front of a cordoned-off shopping centre, while images show blood stains on the pavement outside the centre
Daily Finnish paper Aamulehti reported that police blocked all doors of the Ratine shopping centre and people were not allowed to enter or leave.
Witnesses of the attack were taken to the second floor of the shopping centre for questioning.
Yle also reported that employees from the social and crisis emergency services had arrived to attend to victims and bystanders.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow…
