Finnish school shooting motivated by bullying - police

A 12-year-old suspected of shooting dead a boy at his school and seriously wounding two girls was motivated by bullying, Finnish police say.

The boy was detained some distance from his school in Vantaa on Tuesday morning an hour after he opened fire on other children.

His three victims were also aged 12. The two girls are still in hospital.

Public buildings across Finland lowered their flags from 08:00 (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday to mark a day of mourning.

In a statement, police said the boy had been transferred at the start of this year to Viertola school in Vantaa, to the north of the capital, Helsinki.

They said the suspect told them he had been bullied after he was detained in the Siltamaki area of northern Helsinki, almost 4km (2.5 miles) from the scene of the shooting. Their initial investigation supported that conclusion, they added.

Police have opened an investigation into murder and attempted murder. However, because of his age, the suspect cannot be held criminally responsible and has now been handed to the care of social services.

Police also revealed the suspect had threatened students on their way to school in the Siltamaki area.

According to Finnish news outlet MTV Uutiset, he wore a mask and noise-cancelling headphones while carrying out the shooting at Viertola school.

The school was open on Wednesday, but Katri Kalske, the deputy mayor of Vantaa, said that it would close earlier than usual.

It has 800 students aged between seven and 16 of both of primary and middle-school age on two separate sites. Some 90 staff work at the school.

Extensive support has been offered to pupils and staff, the deputy mayor said, adding that the shooting would be discussed appropriately in schools across Vantaa, Finland's fourth-largest city.

Police have also confirmed that the gun used by the suspect was owned by a close relative.

Gun ownership is widespread in Finland and people aged over 18 considered fit to own a firearm can apply for a licence. Children over 15 can also have licences to use other people's firearms.

The suspect is understood to have used a revolver-type handgun licensed to a close relative, and under Finnish law permits for revolvers are only given to people over 20.

Elina Pekkarinen, Finland's Children's Rights Ombudsman, told Finnish news agency STT, that "for years (we have been repeating) that we need to take violence between children in society seriously".

Acts of violence, particularly amongst children under 15 years old, have been on the rise for several years, she added.

Finland is widely known as a country of hunters and gun enthusiasts and has 430,000 licensed gun owners in a population of 5.6 million, according to government statistics. There is no limit to the number of guns that can be owned and the interior ministry says more than 1.5 million are in circulation.