2 dead in Finland stabbing attack

Copenhagen, Denmark: A man stabbed several people in Finland's western city of Turku before police shot him in a leg and detained him on Friday, police said, adding that authorities were looking for more potential suspects. At least two people were killed in the attack, police said.

Finland's interior minister said security is now being stepped up across the country. Finnish broadcaster YLE says several people were seen lying on the ground in Puutori square in central Turku. On Twitter, police urged people to avoid that part of Turku.

One person has been "apprehended," Finnish police said, adding "several people had been stabbed" in two squares in the city. Their conditions weren't immediately available. Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat says six people were injured, one man and five women, and that a woman with stroller was attacked by a man with a large knife.

Prime Minister Juha Sipila said the government was closely monitoring the ongoing police operation and holding an emergency meeting.

Witness Laura Laine said that she stood approximately 20 meters (65 feet) from where the stabbing took place. "We heard that a young woman was screaming.

We saw a man on the square and a knife glittered. He was waving it in the air. I understood that he had stabbed someone," Laine was quoted as saying.