Police arrived quickly to the scene, as the closest patrol was just 300 meters away from where the crime occurred. The killer was waiting in the car and surrendered without resistance when approached by law enforcement officers.
The victims, who were not known to the killer and were seemingly chosen randomly, were three local women born in 1963, 1964 and 1980, served as chairwoman of the City Council and journalists at local newspapers Uutisvuoksi and Etelä-Saimaa respectively.
#Imatra n kaupungintalolla voi käydä kirjoittamassa tervehdyksensä Tiina Wilen-Jäppisen muistokirjaanhttps://t.co/1DL5c9Ybtg pic.twitter.com/6bPRV4L7FI
— Imatran kaupunki (@Imatrankaupunki) December 5, 2016
Remarkably, the 23-year-old killer is no stranger to local police. In March 2013, he stabbed another man with a knife, subsequently confessing aggravated assault, but denying attempted manslaughter. Since the injuries were life-threatening, the man was sentenced to three years and two months in prison. A mental survey, which the man underwent in connection with the trial, showed that he was sane and perfectly understood the consequences of his actions. The man was also convicted of drunken driving.
BREAKING: Local Mayor and 2 journalist were killed last night by a sniper in #Imatra #Finnland, shooter was arrested pic.twitter.com/0MuNZCgSBu
— News_Executive (@News_Executive) 4 декабря 2016 г.
Overall, Finland has a very low intentional homicide rate. Whereas gang violence is almost non-existent, Finland is notorious for random school massacres and street shootings like the 2012 Hyvinkää shooting or the Kauhajoki school shooting.
Imatra is a town in South Karelia County with a population of about 30,000 people. It is located near the Russian border, just 7 kilometers from the Russian border town of Svetogorsk and 210 kilometers from St. Petersburg.