One arrested for stabbing a Somali boy in Kannelmäki station released

Police announced Thursday that one of the two men who were arrested for stabbing to death a young boy at the Kannelmäki train station (Helsinki) has been released from prison. Now only a young man born in 2000 remains the only suspect.

The victim was Keyse Abdifatah, a 18-year-old boy with Finnish citizenship and Somali roots.

The crime occurred on Sunday 26 April.

According to sources form the Somali community, that evening Keyse took the train in Myyrmäki (western Vantaa), where he lived with his family, with the intention to visit a supermarket in the Kaari Shopping Center, in Kannelmäki, a neighbourhood located in northwest Helsinki.

Very little is known about what happened after Keyse left the train.

According to the few details provided by Helsinki Police Superintendent Juhani Vuorisalo, apparently the suspect and the victim met at the train station. They did not know each other, but they had a short argument, after which Keyse was stabbed. The police has described the crime as an alleged manslaughter.

Motive not 'revealed'

Police said in their latest press release that they have made "progress" in investigating the killing. However, they have not been able to determine what was the motive for the attack. Police have also not said what the victim and the aggressor talked about, or who started the conversation or why.

"The preliminary investigation has not revealed any actual motive for the act," is all that Helsinki Police Department said on Thursday in a press release.

The night of the crime, two suspects were arrested shortly thereafter. They were two men, Finns by birth. One of them is almost 20 years old as he was born in June 2000. The other one was born in December 1990, therefore he is close to 30.

The elder, released

According to police information, the latter is the one that has been released. "He is no longer a suspect," the police says. They both had been imprisoned on Thursday 30 April by the Helsinki District Court.

Now the authorities seem to have no intention of giving more information about this case, which has raised great concern, especially among the Somali community in Finland. Police say they will not provide further details until the investigation is completed and the case is transferred to prosecution.