Police said that there was currently just a single suspect in the stabbing case, adding that it was unclear if the incident was related to terrorism.
The police is searching for possible more perpetrators in Turku. People are asked to leave and avoid the center of Turku.The Turun Sanomat newspaper reported that an elderly woman and a young boy were among the injured, citing an eyewitness.
— L-S poliisi (@L_S_poliisi) August 18, 2017
Several persons stabbed in central Turku. Police has shot at suspected perpetrator. One person is apprehendeeThe witness added that another elderly woman was injured on the other side of the square where the incident reportedly took place.
— L-S poliisi (@L_S_poliisi) August 18, 2017
Multiple ambulances are at the scene, according to the newspaper.
The outlet also reported that a body has been covered at a junction, and that police and rescue personnel are at the scene.
Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat reported that six people were injured, one man and five women, and that a woman pushing a stroller was among those attacked by a man with a large knife.
Authorities have warned people to stay away from the city center following the attack, which reportedly took place in the Puutori-Market Square area.
According to police, security will be reinforced nationwide after the stabbing, with additional patrols deployed and surveillance boosted across Finland.
A video posted online appears to show the moments after the incident, with people running down the street. Shouting is heard in the background. The tweet reads there were apparently shouts of "Allahu Akbar" and that it is a terrorist attack. However, there has been no official confirmation.
Multiple people stabbed in #Turku by man shouting Allahu Akbar...... Another day another terror attack in Europe pic.twitter.com/Y1FrM2CEuRThe attack comes just one day after a van plowed into pedestrians on a popular tourist street in Barcelona, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100 others.
— Mark (@markantro) August 18, 2017
Hours later, terrorists launched a second attack in the seaside town of Cambrils, injuring seven people, one of whom later died. Police killed five people believed to be behind the attack.
Stabbing attacks have taken place across Europe in recent months. In late July, a knife-wielding man shouting "Allahu Akbar"attacked police on the Spanish-Moroccan border, injuring an officer. The suspect was immediately arrested.
An asylum seeker went on a stabbing spree at a supermarket in the German city of Hamburg that same month, killing one person and injuring several others. Hamburg State Interior Minister Andy Grote said the man was known to authorities as an Islamist.
In June, an attack in the London Bridge area of the British capital saw terrorists stab people at Borough Market after plowing into pedestrians with their vehicle.
Comment: After evaluating "information received during the night", authorities are now investigating this as a terror attack. The suspect is an 18-year-old Moroccan. Five additional suspects, also Moroccans, have been detained in connection; they were in contact with the main suspect.
Update: The suspect has been identified as an asylum seeker. He arrived in Finland in 2016. Authorities say he deliberately targeted women. After being shot by police, the suspect is now being treated in hospital. An international arrest warrant for a sixth suspect was also issued.
Update (Aug. 22): More details have been released on the suspect accused of killing 2 and injuring 8 last week: Abderrahman Mechkah. He had previously lived in Germany in 2015 and 2016 for several months before moving to Finland, where he was denied asylum: