Finnish court identifies Turku stabbing suspect as 18-year-old Abderrahman Mechkah

HELSINKI

REUTERS photo

The suspect in last week’s stabbing attack in Finland that left two people dead and eight injured was identified in court documents on Aug. 21 as 18-year-old Abderrahman Mechkah.

Police have previously described the suspect as an asylum seeker from Morocco who deliberately targeted women in a stabbing spree on a market square in the southwestern town of Turku, in what is being investigated as the country’s first terror attack.

Mechkah will appear in court on Aug. 22 and police said he may appear via video link from hospital after he was shot in the leg and arrested on Aug. 18. Police said the suspect appeared to have targeted women.

The crimes are being treated as murder and attempted murder with terrorist intent, the court said. Police have requested that Mechkah be detained during preliminary investigations.

Four other Moroccans, who deny involvement, are suspected of participation in the attacks. 

Moreover, Finnish police have requested that all five people arrested should be held in pre-trial detention.