Finnish police arrest teen in mall bomb probe
Finnish police today arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of helping a student who is believed to have set off a bomb at a shopping mall last week, killing himself and six others.
Detective Chief Superintendent Tero Haapala said the boy, from southern Finland, was a chief suspect in “providing information about how bombs are constructed”.
Police said 19-year-old Petri Gerdt, who lived with his parents and studied chemical engineering, built the bomb and intentionally exploded it on Friday evening at one of Finland’s largest shopping malls in Vantaa, 10 miles north of Helsinki.
Gerdt was an avid Internet surfer and probably built the deadly device after visiting a website chat room known as “bomb forum”.
Police detained several people who had visited the site or who knew Gerdt, but all had been released except for the 17-year-old boy.
