Finland Times

 

File Photo – Lehtikuva.

The police shot an aggressive man in Lahti on Saturday after they had been alerted to an emergency situation in a private residence.

 

The Häme police went to the residence after receiving reports of a man on rampage.

 

The police shot the man as he failed to obey the command and continued to charge towards the police with a weapon in his hand.

 

The man was given first aid by the police and afterwards taken to hospital in an ambulance. 

 

“According to the information I have, his life is not in acute danger. Regarding where the police bullet hit him, I cannot comment,” said District Prosecutor Heikki Stenius from the Salpausselkä Prosecutor’s Office.

 

According to preliminary information, the weapon used by the man was some sort of a bludgeon. However, the weapon will be examined when the police patrol will recount the events leading to the shooting, said Stenius.

 

“There always is a ground when a firearm is used. Also the police have a right to self-defence,” Stenius said.

 

Use of a firearm is considered extreme, and it is used if there is no other less coercive measure.

 

The man, estimated to be around 20 years old, is suspected of causing damage and insubordination. 

 

The district prosecutor did not tell the news agency STT whether there were other people in the house during the incident.

 

The last time the police used a firearm was in March when an armed man was shot to death in Petäjävesi. 

 

Statistics of slightly over 10 years reveal that the police in the country attend to about a million tasks every year. The police use firearms about 20 times a year, and half of the time firearms are used to fire warning shots, said Police Superintendent Ari Alanen in an interview with STT in February.