Oulu bicycle stabbings: police investigate hate crime motive in series of attacks
Oulu police are investigating multiple stabbings committed by a cyclist as a series of offences and are looking into a hate crime motive. The latest attack targeted a man of foreign background in the Kaukovainio neighbourhood.
Oulu police investigate attacks by man on bicycle as series of offences
Oulu police are investigating stabbings that have occurred in the city in recent months as a series of offences, according to ksml.fi citing information from Kaleva. A key question is whether the acts constitute hate crimes – that is, whether they are motivated by hostility towards the group represented by the victims.
Over a period of slightly more than a year, a number of violent offences have occurred in Oulu in which a cyclist has attacked people of foreign background. The latest case occurred last Friday in the Kaukovainio neighbourhood, when a man on a bicycle stabbed a man of foreign background. The act is being investigated as attempted murder.
– There are indications of such a motive in this case, senior criminal investigator Petri Savela told Kaleva.
Kaukovainio was the fourth case this year in which the victim of the cyclist has been of foreign background. Three of the cases have been stabbings.
Police announced on Monday that they had investigated Friday's attack actively throughout the weekend. The investigation was carried out using the police's own methods as well as by examining numerous reports from the public.
The suspect has distinctive characteristics: he moved with his left leg in a cautious manner on a so-called granny bike and was wearing a baseball cap and a shirt with a collar. The previous assumption about an older perpetrator has also been corrected – according to those involved, it concerns a man aged approximately 20–35 years.
Police are asking housing associations and businesses in the Kaukovainio area to check their surveillance camera recordings from last Friday before and after 19:50. Information about the suspect can be reported by email to [email protected], by telephone on 0295 416 194 or by WhatsApp message to 050 305 0132.
Source: Google News FI — Crime (fi)