This topic is about a violent crime in which two people died. It has no pictures and no details of the injuries. On 18 August 2017 Turku became the first city in Finland where a crime was later judged to be a terrorist attack. What happened took about three minutes; the response lasted for weeks and years.
What happened
- A Friday afternoon. At about 16:02 on Friday 18 August 2017 a man attacked people with a knife at the west corner of the Market Square. He moved on towards Puutori, about 465 metres away Well documented.
- The victims. Two women were killed and eight people were injured, three of them critically. The injured were residents and visitors from several countries Well documented.
- Stopped in minutes. Bystanders helped the injured and tried to stop the attacker. At 16:05 a police patrol stopped him near Puutori, wounded him in the leg and arrested him Well documented.
The trial
- The verdict. On 15 June 2018 the District Court of Southwest Finland sentenced the attacker to life in prison for two murders and eight attempted murders, all with terrorist intent Well documented.
- A first for Finland. It was the first time a crime in Finland was legally judged to be terrorism, and the first conviction for a terrorist crime in the country Well documented.
- Planned and responsible. The court found that the attacks were planned in advance, and a psychiatric examination found the attacker criminally responsible Well documented.
- Final. An appeal was withdrawn in January 2019, so the verdict became final Likely.
How people responded
- Help. A crisis helpline and a crisis help point were set up, and the number of social workers on call was doubled Well documented.
- Silence together. On 19 August flags flew at half-mast. On 20 August Finland held a national minute of silence. In Turku the city, the police leadership and religious communities held a joint silent moment on the Market Square Well documented.
- Flowers. A place for flowers was kept on the square for about two weeks Well documented.
- Voices. Prime Minister Juha Sipilä said: “We are no longer an island.” The Islamic Council of Finland condemned the attack Well documented.
No memorial on the square
- A decision. After the attack the city leadership decided that no permanent memorial would be placed on the Market Square Well documented.
- Asked again. In 2025, answering a council proposal for a memorial, the city repeated its decision. It said a memorial could provoke unwanted reactions, and that it honours the victims by working so that such violence does not happen again in Turku Well documented.
How do we know?
The attack was investigated by the police and tried in court, and both are summarised in an encyclopedia article and in news reports from Yle. The city’s own reply to the council tells how it responded. One detail, the withdrawn appeal, comes from a single source. We have chosen not to name the attacker or describe the injuries, because this page is about the victims and the response.