Advertisement

Finland 'terror' attack: Briton stabbed four times 'trying to save' women targeted in attack which left two dead

Hassan Zubier, a paramedic born in Kent, was stabbed four times as he tried to save women in a terror attack in the Finnish city of Turku
Hassan Zubier, a paramedic born in Kent, was stabbed four times as he tried to save women in a terror attack in the Finnish city of Turku

A British man was stabbed four times in the Finland terror attack as he tried to help save women from a knife-wielding attacker who killed two of them.

The attacker stabbed two Finnish women to death and injured eight more in a market place in the city of Turku, 90 miles west of the capital, Helsinki, on Friday, as British paramedic, Hassan Zubier, tried to save them.

Mr Zubier, 45, was stabbed four times as he tried to protect one of the victims who died in his arms.

Police shot and wounded the 18-year-old attacker in the leg and arrested him just minutes after the stabbing in the busy market square.

The police say the Moroccan man specifically targeted women and it was the intervention of Mr Zubier, from Dartford, and one other that helped to save lives before the suspect was apprehended.

Attack in Turku, Finland
Attack in Turku, Finland.

Mr Zubier was repeatedly stabbed in the neck and chest as he tried to protect his girlfriend and others.

"We were strolling around the square when we suddenly heard someone screaming. I turned around and saw a guy stabbing a woman with a knife while she was on the ground," Mr Zubier told Swedish daily Expressen from the Turku hospital.

"I rushed to help her and tried to stop the blood flow. 

Hassan Zubier
Hassan Zubier, from Kent, battled to save the lives of a number of women attacked in the Finland terror attack.

"I tried to stop the violent bleeding from her throat. Then he stabs me with the knife again. The woman was so badly injured and she died in my arms."

Two Finnish citizens were killed in the attack and a British man, two Swedes and an Italian were injured.

The victims ranged in age from 15 to 67.

A girl plays a traditional Finnish instrument 'kantele' and singing a traditional lullaby at the site where one person was stabbed to death - Credit: EPA/MARKKU OJALA
A girl plays a traditional Finnish instrument 'kantele' and singing a traditional lullaby at the site where one person was stabbed to death Credit: EPA/MARKKU OJALA

"We think that the attacker especially targeted women, and the men were wounded after coming to the defence of the women," superintendent Christa Granroth of Finland's National Bureau of Investigation.

"One man was injured trying to help a victim and one man tried to stop the attacker," Granroth said.

The British Embassy in Helsinki said: "We have been in touch with the British National and offered consular support."

Mr Zubier and his girlfriend were on holiday in Turku. They were planning to take a cruise ship back to Stockholm on Friday night. 

Finnish police say the suspect, from Morocco, entered the country last year and was going through the asylum process.

Rescue personnel cordon the place where several people were stabbed, at Turku Market Square - Credit: LEHTIKUVA/Roni Lehti via REUTERS
Rescue personnel cordon the place where several people were stabbed, at Turku Market Square Credit: LEHTIKUVA/Roni Lehti via REUTERS

"The act had been investigated as murder, but during the night we received additional information which indicates that the criminal offenses are now terrorist killings," police said in a statement.

The suspect's "identity is known to the police. He is an 18-year-old Moroccan citizen," it said.

The attacks on Thursday in Barcelona were also carried out by a Moroccan-born terror cell, which left 14 dead.

"There was a raid and we have now six suspects in custody, the main suspect and five others," detective superintendent Markus Laine of the National Bureau of Investigation said.

"We are investigating the role of these five other people but we are not sure yet if they had anything to do with [the attack]... We will interrogate them, after that we can tell you more. But they had been in contact with the main suspect," Mr Laine added.

President of Finland Sauli Niinist arrives for a prayer service for stabbing victims at the Cathedral in Turku on Friday - Credit: Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva via AP
President of Finland Sauli Niinist arrives for a prayer service for stabbing victims at the Cathedral in Turku on Friday Credit: Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva via AP

In June, Finland's intelligence and security agency Supo raised the country's terror threat level by a notch, from "low" to "elevated", the second notch on a four-tier scale.

It said at the time it saw an increased risk of an attack committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The agency said it was keeping a particularly close eye on around 350 individuals, an increase of 80 percent since 2012.