It Can't Happen Here

But it did.

Last night a man brutally stabbed ten people in the center of Turku, killing two and sending eight to hospital. His motives are still unknown, but it appears he chose his victims at random. The investigation is still ongoing, but terrorism hasn't been ruled out.

My heart goes out to the victims and their loved ones. The central market square is a place I visit regularly. This could have happened to me or any of my friends or family. I'm incredibly relieved they're safe.

When something like this happens in your home town, it gets under your skin, but that doesn't mean you should let it fester. This kind of thing is almost impossible to prevent, but we have to remember that the police stopped a terrorist attack on the Temppeliaukio church in the spring and are doing everything they can to keep us all safe.

Here are a few things about last night that make me proud to be Finnish:

First of all, the police response yesterday was very efficient: the call came at 4:02 p.m. and the police had stopped and captured the man at 4:05. You can't ask for a better response time than that. They shot the man but caught him alive (because in Finland the police shoot to stop not to kill, and even then as a last resort), which may help us understand why he did what he did and if there are ways to stop such tragedies in the future. If he's mentally ill, he'll get treatment, if he's a terrorist, he'll answer for his crimes.

Second, the authorities flat out refused to jump to the conclusion of terror attack before the matter had been thoroughly investigated, even though the manner of the attack fit and the fact that the perpetrator "appears to not be of native Finnish descent," but took immediate precautions in case it was. Our political leaders have condemned the attack and the President traveled to Turku last night to take part in a church service held to comfort people and help them grieve. The Turku University Hospital and the EMTs took the situation in hand, treating the victims and offering trauma counselling.

Third, many people risked their lives to help the victims. Swedish tourist Hassan Zubier rushed to help a woman bleeding out and got stabbed, as did Finnish entrepreneur Hasan Alazawi. A doctor stayed to perform CPR, and a woman tried to comfort the small child of the victim and helped contact the child's father. A bunch of bystanders grabbed makeshift weapons and chased the man with the knife away from the market square, screaming warnings to those in his path, probably saving many lives. It could have been much worse.

Yes, there are monsters out there. But there are heroes too.

I take comfort in that.