On the morning of May 20, 2025, a 16-year-old student carried out an armed attack on his classmates at Vähäjärvi School in the Finnish municipality of Pirkkala, injuring three schoolgirls. The teenager, dressed in black clothes and a hood, recorded the attack on a GoPro body camera, broadcasting the incident live. According to Finnish media, the attack was carefully planned over a period of six months, with the suspect using artificial intelligence, including ChatGPT, to prepare. Before the attack, he published a manifesto on social media in which he stated his intention to attack girls, citing feelings of loneliness and social isolation.

The incident occurred at 10:42 local time, when the Central Finland Police received a call about violence at the Vähäjärvi School, which has about 1250 students from preschool to 9th grade. The suspect, a 9th-grade student, attacked a group of five girls during a break, stabbing three of them in the neck, arm and lower back. The victims, 8th-grade students, were taken to hospital, where their condition is stable and there is no threat to life. The police quickly detained the attacker at the scene of the crime, and the school grounds were thoroughly searched to rule out additional threats.

According to Yle, in a manifesto circulated on social media, the teenager described the reasons for his actions, the weapon used, and expressed his intention to surrender to the police after the attack. Journalists have reviewed the document, but its authorship has not yet been officially confirmed. Local media, including IltaLehti, report that the suspect acted alone and was not associated with any organized groups. Police are continuing their investigation, looking into the teenager’s motives and his use of artificial intelligence to plan the attack. It is alleged that ChatGPT may have been used to write the manifesto or develop the attack plan, raising questions about the role of AI in such incidents.

Following the attack, the school was partially evacuated, with parents of grades 3–6 students asked to take their children home, while older students remained in the building temporarily under supervision. By midday, the situation had stabilized and emergency crews had left the area.