Young people mourn friend stabbed to death at grill-kiosk in Helsinki suburb
Police deny Oulunkylä suburb is particularly prone to violence, despite three violent incidents in six months
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By Lauri Korolainen and Marja Salmela
The mood in the neighbourhood of the Oulunkylä shopping mall in Helsinki was disconsolate on Monday evening.
Dozens of candles were lit along Mäkitorpantie, and a bunch of young people milling around at the scene brought flowers. One card read: ”Violence is pointless”.
On the opposite side of the street is the grill-kiosk Friendly Burgers, belonging to two entrepreneur brothers, one of whom stabbed a 22-year-old man to death in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The brawl between a crowd of youths and the grill-keepers, themselves aged only 18 and 22, broke out just before 5:00 a.m.
The younger of the brothers fetched a knife from the kiosk and stabbed one of the youngsters fatally in the chest.
On Sunday, dozens of young people turned up to mourn for the victim.
Police were forced to disperse the crowd after a man aged 35 had pelted the kiosk windows with stones.
The stabbing incident has sparked a heated debate among local residents.
Tarja Syrjänen, who is sitting on the terrace of a nearby restaurant, believes that the shopping centre has become more restless in recent years. She has lived in Oulunkylä for nearly 40 years.
”There have been some minor scuffles earlier between the Asian grill-keepers and some youngsters”, Syrjänen reports. Syrjänen also knows that the bunch of youths loitering around the grill early on Sunday morning belong to a local football club. Her son knew the victim.
”I wouldn't regard these youngsters as troublemakers”, Syrjänen points out.
Timo Ollila, a retired taxi driver, reports that drunks often turn up at the grill when bars and restaurants close.
At the same time, Mirva Laaksonen, standing at the main entrance of the mall, says that a gang has recently been spotted in nearby Koulumestarintie, smashing up bus stops.
”A bunch of a dozen boys has been seen throwing stones at the pizzeria”, she reports further.
However, many passers-by assert instead that the Oulunkylä suburb is peaceful, and insist that they are not afraid to go past the shopping centre at night.
According to Detective Inspector Jari Koski, one cannot label Oulunkylä as a violent district.
He argues that the violent crimes committed in the area over a short period have been mere coincidences.
Koski adds that it is impossible to predict where homicides occur. ”The peak area for violent crimes is still in the city centre”, he points out.
As far as is known, racism has not played any role in the events that have occurred in Oulunkylä.
Aside from Sunday’s stabbing, two other violent incidents have taken place in the Oulukylä mall over the past six months.
Last May, a middle-aged man from Mikkeli was beaten up and had to be taken to hospital, after he had tried to break up a fight around midnight. The victim sustained a brain injury and is still on sick leave.
Another stabbing occurred in April. The older of the two grill entrepreneur brothers was stabbed one night, just before midnight.
A Roma man stuck a knife into his leg and hand after four drunk Roma male customers had refused to pay for their food.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 19.8.2008
LAURI KOROLAINEN AND MARJA SALMELA / Helsingin Sanomat
marja.salmela@hs.fi
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| 19.8.2008 - THIS WEEK |
 Young people mourn friend stabbed to death at grill-kiosk in Helsinki suburb |
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