Early on Thursday morning Oulu police announced in a press release that they had detained the suspected axeman at the centre of a huge manhunt after two people were killed on Wednesday evening.
During the operation he was shot, and he later died of his injuries.
The killings he was suspected of perpetrating took place in the Tuira district of the city, with the suspect apprehended at an apartment block in the Myllyoja area. Yle’s regional office spoke to eyewitnesses who said 15 armed police entered the building, before a loud bang and barking from police dogs were heard.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has now taken over the investigation, and as usual in cases where a suspect dies police actions will be evaluated by the prosecutor.
National Police Commissioner Mikko Paatero said that police had acted properly during the operation, and only shot the suspect after he had attacked an officer with an axe.
"The police officer was wearing a helmet, so he got away with slight injuries," said Paatero. "It clearly looks like self-defence to me. These things always, of course go to the prosecutor for evaluation."
Paatero said police had no information as to the suspect's possible motives for the killings.
Oulu's deputy mayor, Sinikka Salo, said that the city is still safe, and that the killings were an isolated incident.
