Police drew weapons against two individuals in separate incidents in Lohja and Karkkila
Western Uusimaa police were forced to draw weapons at two separate individuals on Sunday – one was in possession of a large knife in Karkkila, the other was holding a device resembling a gas pistol in Lohja.
Armed threats in Karkkila and Lohja on the same Sunday
Western Uusimaa police were forced to draw their service weapons against individuals in two separate incidents on Sunday, 1 November, according to reporting by lansi-uusimaa.fi. The incidents occurred in Karkkila and Lohja.
In Karkkila, a police patrol received a task from the emergency services centre late on Sunday to investigate disruptive behaviour. According to initial information, a man was acting violently in a yard and shouting threats to kill, and there were no other people in his immediate vicinity.
"When the patrol arrived at the scene, it encountered a man who was still threatening to kill someone and was in possession of a large knife. Police ordered the man to surrender the knife by threatening him with a service weapon. Shortly after, he did so, and he was taken into custody," says Detective Chief Inspector Marjut Kronlund.
The incident is currently being investigated as possession of an object or substance suitable for causing serious injury.
In Lohja, a patrol was patrolling in Virkkala when it observed an electric scooter rider holding what appeared to be a weapon in his hand. The patrol turned around to pursue the man for inspection. Police warned the man against using the weapon, but the man made movements resembling loading actions with the object and fled on an electric scooter.
"Eventually police stopped the escape and made an arrest. A pistol-like gas weapon fell from the man's possession," Kronlund says in a statement.
The Lohja incident is being investigated as violent resistance to an official and possession of an object or substance suitable for causing serious injury.
According to Chief Inspector Jussi Päivänsalo, police have been forced to draw weapons against individuals in the Western Uusimaa region on 12 occasions between the beginning of January and the beginning of November. Last year, there were a total of ten such incidents throughout the year.
Police are encountering bladed and firearms more frequently in their duties. Some weapons turn out to be realistic replicas upon later inspection, as in the Lohja case. According to Päivänsalo, when a situation is ongoing, it is nearly impossible to assess the authenticity of a weapon.
Source: Google News FI — Crime (fi)