Kuopio school stabbing

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Kuopio school stabbing
Kuopio.sijainti.suomi.2013.svg
Kuopio ubication where the attack happened
Kuopio school stabbing
Location Kuopio, Northern Savonia, Finland
Date1 October 2019 (2019-10-01)
c. 12:27 –12:37
Target Savo Vocational College
Attack type
Mass stabbing, school attack, arson
Weapons
Deaths1
Injured12 (including the perpetrator)
Motive
AccusedJoel Otto Aukusti Marin

The Kuopio school stabbing occurred on 1 October 2019 at Savo Vocational College in Kuopio, Northern Savonia, Finland. Armed with a longsword, 25-year-old student Joel Otto Aukusti Marin killed a female student and wounded eleven others. He also carried an air pistol which was not used during the attack; it was initially mistaken for a real firearm. The attack ended when a policewoman shot and wounded Marin. [1]

Contents

Attack

On the morning of the attack at approximately 9:00, Marin arrived on a bicycle to a post office adjacent to a supermarket. He entered the supermarket first and purchased several items: a 2 kg grain-fed pork neck, scissors, paper clips, an Ultra Red Monster Energy drink, a Red Bull, and two Erdinger beer bottles. [2] [3] After purchasing the items, Marin entered the post office to pick up a longsword he purchased online. He would leave the post office at 9:17.

At his apartment, Marin shredded his bank card and destroyed his computer's hard drive. He also tested his longsword on the pork neck he purchased before leaving it in his fridge. [2] [4] At 12:25, Marin arrived at the Savo Vocational College, located in the premises of the Herman shopping mall.

The attack began in a computer lab classroom. At the time of the attack, 18 students and one teacher were in the classroom. [3] Marin knocked on the door to the classroom and was let in by the teacher. [5] Students in the classroom described how Marin arrived to class with a "long bag", took out a longsword and began stabbing people. [1] Marin began the attack by striking the teacher multiple times with his sword. He then turned towards the students and began attacking them as they tried to flee. [5] Marin stabbed nine of the students, killing one, while nine other students escaped the classroom unharmed. A male teacher walking in the hallway noticed several people fleeing from the classroom that was being attacked. He entered the doorway and noticed Marin repeatedly stabbing a woman with his sword. The male teacher called out to Marin, which caught his attention. Marin approached the male teacher and struck his wrist with the sword. The male teacher ran out of the classroom along with the woman who was attacked by Marin. The mortally wounded woman collapsed in the hallway. Several teachers tried to carry her, but Marin scared them off. The woman who collapsed would turn out to be the only fatality in the attack. [5] After scaring off the teachers in the hallway, Marin re-entered the classroom, put down his backpack, and began pouring gasoline from a bottle. Marin used a lighter on the gasoline and started a fire. In the process, his backpack, which contained several Molotov cocktails, caught on fire. Marin left the room and headed downstairs to the Herman shopping mall. The fire was quickly extinguished. [6]

While downstairs, Marin walked up to a janitor. He pointed an air pistol at the janitor's head with the intention of injuring him. However, the air pistol failed to fire due to an improperly screwed gas cylinder. Marin went back upstairs, leaving the janitor unharmed. While upstairs, Marin checked his air pistol. [3]

Police were alerted at 12:29. The attack lasted for over 10 minutes [2] , during which Marin stabbed twelve people. The only fatality was a 23-year-old Ukrainian-born woman who was a student at the college and had been stabbed in the neck and stomach, resulting in her death. [7]

The attack ended when a policewoman shot and severely wounded Marin, who was sent to the Kuopio University Hospital for treatment. The policewoman was accompanied by a policeman who fired a shot at Marin, missing him. Marin approached the policeman and struck his hand, wounding him. The policewoman fired a shot at Marin, hitting him in the groin. Marin collapsed but still tried to attack with his sword. Another police officer arrived and fired a taser at Marin, shocking him. In the process, the officer also deployed a police dog to bite Marin's leg. After being tased and bitten, Marin eventually dropped the sword and was given first aid. [8] [9]

Perpetrator

Joel Otto Aukusti Marin (born 1994) was a student at Savo Vocational College. The police found several incendiary devices similar to a Molotov cocktail when they searched Marin's apartment after the attack. [10] Based on preliminary information, he had no previous criminal record. [6]

Marin had moved to Kuopio from the municipality of Siilinjärvi at some point after matriculating in 2014. [11] He had been regularly bullied since primary school for reasons including his clothing and being overweight. He was described as quiet and lonely. [12] Marin had participated in shooting courses at the Kuopio Shooting Club. [13] He had also planned the attack since 2017, only deciding to start preparations in September 2019. He had also shown familiarity with several school shootings including: Columbine, Sandy Hook, Jokela, and Kauhajoki. He was primarily inspired by the 2008 Kauhajoki school shooting during his planning. Marin initially planned to do the attack with a chainsaw and even purchased one several days before the stabbing. However, he decided against the plan after realizing how difficult it was to handle the chainsaw. [4] The chainsaw would be found in his apartment after the attack.

Aftermath

The Finnish Parliament (eduskunta) held a minute-long moment of silence the day after the attack to honor the victims. Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne called the violence "shocking and completely unacceptable" [14] and visited Kuopio on 4 October. [15] In November 2020 the perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment. [16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Kerkelä, Lasse; Mäkipää, Säde; Laitinen, Joonas; Laitinen, Janne (1 October 2019). "Näin silminnäkijät kertoivat Kuopion kouluhyökkäyksestä: Raskaasti aseistautunut poliisi ampui uhkaavasti käyttäytynyttä miestä – "Mies huusi vihaisesti"" [This is what the witnesses said about the Kuopio school stabbing: heavily armed police shot a threatening man – "man yelled angrily"]. hs.fi (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Paljastava video: Kuopion kouluhyökkäyksen tapahtumat hetki hetkeltä – näin opiskelijoiden elämät järkkyivät vain noin 10 minuutissa". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  3. 1 2 3 "Kuopion kouluhyökkääjä avautui kuulusteluissa motiivistaan: "Kosto koko maailmaa kohtaan" – synkkä yksityiskohta teon valmistelusta ilmi". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  4. 1 2 Autio, Sari (2020-09-08). "Hyytävä esitutkintakertomus: Kuopion kouluhyökkääjällä oli tarkoitus tappaa kaikki luokassa". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  5. 1 2 3 Autio, Sari (2020-09-08). "Kuopion kouluhyökkäys: Oppilaat kertovat kauhusta luokassa – "Pelkäsin, että se tappaa mut"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  6. 1 2 Pesonen, Mikko; Bjurström, Eelis (1 October 2019). "Nämä 7 asiaa tiedämme nyt Kuopion kouluhyökkäyksestä: 10 loukkaantui ja yksi kuoli, kun miesopiskelija hyökkäsi sapelin kaltaisella aseella" [These 7 facts are now known about the Kuopio school stabbing: 10 were injured and one died when a male student attacked with a sabre-like weapon]. yle.fi (in Finnish). Yle. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  7. ↑ Times, The State (2019-10-11). "Attack on Finnish College Campus". The State Times. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  8. ↑ "One dead, several injured in violent incident at Kuopio college". yle.fi. Yle. 1 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  9. ↑ "Kuopion miekkahyökkääjää ampunut sankaripoliisi oli harjoittelija – dramaattinen kertomus tapahtumista julki: "Lähtee henki jollen minä tee mitään"". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  10. ↑ "Police: Sabre-wielding Kuopio suspect a Finnish student with no criminal record". yle.fi. Yle. 1 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  11. ↑ Tenhunen, Asta (2 October 2019). "Tässä talossa Kuopion kouluhyökkääjä Joel Marin asui – Naapuri: "Oli pikkaisen pelottavaa lukea uutisista"". ksml.fi (in Finnish). Keskisuomalainen. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  12. ↑ Vainio, Sara; Grönholm, Pauliina; Pölkki, Minna (2 October 2019). "Kuopion epäiltyä hyökkääjää kiusattiin koulussa vuosia" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  13. ↑ Eklund, Ville (3 October 2019). "Kuopion miekkaiskun tehnyt Joel Marin osallistui ampumakurssille – poseerasi ampumapokaalin kanssa" [Perpetrator of the Kuopio sabre attack Joel Marin partook in a sharpshooting class – posed with a trophy]. mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). MTV. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  14. ↑ Fortin, Jacey (1 October 2019). "Finland School Stabbing Leaves 1 Dead and 10 Injured, Police Say". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  15. ↑ "Pääministeri Antti Rinne vierailee Kuopiossa kouluhyökkäyksen vuoksi – tapaa kansalaisia illalla keskustassa" [Prime Minister Antti Rinne visiting Kuopio as a result of the school stabbing – meeting with citizens downtown in the evening]. mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). MTV. 4 October 2019. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  16. ↑ Malinen, Markku (13 November 2020). "Kuopion kouluhyökkääjä tuomittiin elinkautiseen vankeusrangaistukseen – tuomio murhasta ja 20 murhan yrityksestä syyntakeisena". yle.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.

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