This is a chronological list of shootings, stabbings, and similar attacks in Finland that have occurred at public and private schools, as well as at colleges and universities. Excluded from this list are incidents that solely occurred as a result of police actions, organized crime disputes, and suicides or suicide attempts involving only one person.
| Date | Location | Perpetrator(s) | Dead | Injured | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 March 1921 | Helsinki | 16-year-old male student | 1 | 0 | A student brought a gun to a lyceum and accidentally shot another student in the stomach. The victim died in hospital. [1] |
| 8 December 1976 | Pietarsaari | Peter Gustafsson, 19 | 0 | 0 | A man armed with a handgun and a knife robbed a bank and engaged in a shootout with the police at a nearby school before taking a student hostage inside the school. The gunman eventually surrendered to the police. [2] |
| 26 March 1981 | Turku | Jarmo Siltala, 18 | 1 | 0 | An 18-year-old student attacked a teacher with a shovel at Puolalanmäki Upper Secondary School, causing serious injuries. The teacher eventually died of his injuries weeks later. The suspect was sentenced to 8 years in prison. [3] |
| 12 December 1984 | Kuusankoski | 14-year-old male student | 1 | 0 | A 14-year-old student fatally attacked his 58-year-old geography teacher with a knife at Naukio comprehensive school before fleeing and later being detained. [4] |
| 25 January 1989 | Rauma | 14-year-old male student | 2 | 0 | Raumanmeri school shooting: A 14-year-old student, shot and killed two students at the Raumanmeri secondary school, before being arrested. [5] |
| 18 February 1999 | Helsinki | 12-year-old male student | 0 | 1 | A student stabbed a teacher in the shoulder at Maunula lower comprehensive school in Maunula. [6] |
| 15 April 1999 | Eurajoki | 15-year-old male student | 0 | 1 | A student stabbed a classmate in the arm in the hallway of Eurajoki Secondary School. [7] |
| 27 April 1999 | Vaasa | 20-year-old male | 0 | 1 | A 20-year-old man broke into the Swedish-language secondary school in Porvarinkatu and attacked his ex-girlfriend with scissors. She was later unharmed. [8] |
| 10 January 2001 | Hollola | 15-year-old male student | 0 | 1 | 15-year-old male student stabbed a 14-year-old male student four times with a jackknife after he was attacked. [9] |
| 17 January 2002 | Riihimäki | 14-year-old female student | 0 | 1 | A 14-year-old female student shot a 14-year-old male student in the head with an air gun at Pohjolanrinne school. She also shot at doors and windows with the gun. [10] |
| 14 January 2003 | Pori | 15-year-old male student | 0 | 1 | A 15-year-old student seriously injured a 13-year-old classmate with a fillet knife stab to the lung. [11] |
| 25 August 2003 | Vehkalahti | 17-year-old male student | 0 | 0 | A 17-year-old student fired a handgun multiple times while barricaded on the roof of Vehkalahti upper secondary school. He surrendered to police. [12] |
| 30 March 2005 | Rovaniemen maalaiskunta | Unnamed male | 0 | 1 | The husband of a school kitchen worker went to the Ylikylä comprehensive school, where he attacked and left the woman stabbed and slightly injured in the school kitchen. [13] |
| 31 October 2007 | Tampere | 16-year-old male student | 0 | 1 | A stabbing was reported at Steiner school, with a student with minor injuries from a knife attack by a fellow student of the same age. The attack occurred at 12:50 p.m. [14] |
| 7 November 2007 | Jokela | Pekka-Eric Auvinen, 18 | 9 ‡ | 13 (1 by gunfire) | Jokela school shooting: Pekka-Eric Auvinen, entered the school that morning armed with a semi-automatic pistol. He killed eight people and wounded one person at Jokela High School, before shooting himself in the head. [15] |
| 23 September 2008 | Kauhajoki | Matti Juhani Saari, 22 | 11 ‡ | 11 (1 by gunfire) | Kauhajoki school shooting: Matti Juhani Saari shot and killed ten people with a Walther P22 Target semi-automatic pistol at the Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences, before shooting himself in the head, succumbing to his own injuries hours later. One woman was also injured. [16] |
| 9 January 2012 | Alahärmä | 18-year-old male student | 1 ‡ | 2 (1 stabbed) | An 18-year-old man broke into Alahärmä upper secondary school and stabbed an 18-year-old woman in class, causing serious injuries to the victim. The attacker later fled but was killed in an accident when his car collided with a truck. The truck driver suffered minor injuries. [17] |
| 14 February 2012 | Imatra | 16-year-old male student | 0 | 1 | A ninth-grade boy stabbed another boy in the same class in a classroom at Koski comprehensive school. The victims injuries were to the chest, but the boy managed to survive and the attacker was detained. [18] |
| 30 March 2012 | Orivesi | 23-year-old male | 0 | 0 | A 23-year-old man fired a rifle through the door of a classroom where his teenage ex-girlfriend was in attendance at the Orivesi Comprehensive School. The shooter attempted to march into the classroom, but was pushed out by a teacher. Before coming to the school, the man had allegedly injured his ex-girlfriend’s father at another location. [19] |
| 15 October 2012 | Kerava | 13-year-old female student | 0 | 1 | A seventh-grader armed with a knife threatened classmates at Sompio comprehensive school. A student who was threatened tried to disarm the attacker, but was stabbed. After the attack, the perpetrator locked herself in a room, and later turned herself in. [20] |
| 23 May 2013 | Ylivieska | 12-year-old male student | 0 | 1 | 6th grade student stabbed a 4th grade student in the armpit with a pocket knife. [21] [22] |
| 10 October 2013 | Oulu | 16-year-old male student | 0 | 4 | A 16-year-old armed with a knife attacked students and staff at Myllytulli Vocational College. Two students were injured in the cafeteria and another student and a caretaker were injured in the school foyer. One of the injured suffered serious injuries but survived. [23] |
| 24 October 2014 | Utsjoki | Marko Toni-Juhani Vehmanen, 31 | 1 | 0 | A 31-year-old man armed with a knife went to a school in Utsjoki and fatally attacked a 16-year-old student. He was arrested and sentenced to 12 years in prison. [24] |
| 2 October 2018 | Vaasa | Ali Rashid Majeed Majeed, 49 | 0 | 1 | A 49-year-old man who had ended a relationship with a woman attacked her in the hallways of Vamia Vocational College with a knife, causing minor injuries, before the man was subdued by other adults who were nearby. [25] |
| 1 October 2019 | Kuopio | Joel Otto Aukusti Marin, 25 | 1 | 10 ‡ | Kuopio school stabbing: A 25-year-old man armed with a long sword attacked students at Savo Vocational College, leading to the death of a 23-year-old student and the injuries of eight others. A police officer was seriously injured. [26] |
| 23 January 2020 | Tampere | Male student | 0 | 1 | A student stabbed another student with a knife at Sammo comprehensive school. [27] |
| 12 April 2022 | Rovaniemi | Male student | 0 | 1 | A student stabbed another student with a knife in the school cafeteria at Rantavitikka comprehensive school. [28] |
| 8 March 2023 | Helsinki | 13-year-old female student | 0 | 1 | A 13-year-old female student stabbed a male student in the abdomen at Vesala comprehensive school in Vesala. [29] |
| 28 March 2023 | Ylivieska | 16-year-old male student | 0 | 1 | A ninth-grader stabbed another ninth grade student in the back at Kaisaniemi school. [30] |
| 10 January 2024 | Liminka | 15-year-old male student | 0 | 1 | A student attacked a classmate around 1 p.m. with a knife and threatened other classmates, before being arrested at Liminganlahti comprehensive school. [31] |
| 2 April 2024 | Vantaa | 12-year-old male student | 1 | 2 | Viertola school shooting: 12-year-old student fired a revolver at three students, all aged 12. One of the victims died and two were seriously injured before he was arrested. [32] |
| 20 May 2025 | Pirkkala | 16-year-old male student | 0 | 3 | Vähäjärvi school stabbing: A student at Vähäjärvi School attacked students in the hallway. Listed the motive as wanting to feel excitement in life and to go to prison in a manifesto. [33] |
| 21 May 2025 | Renko | 11-year-old female student | 0 | 1 | 11-year-old female student slashed a male student with a box cutter during recess. [34] [35] |
| 6 October 2025 | Lahti | 15-year-old male student | 0 | 1 | A student stabbed another student of the same age at Salpausselkä comprehensive school. [36] |
‡ including the perpetrator