Finnish court identifies Turku stabbing suspect

Deadly stabbing spree carried out by Abderrahman Mechkah, 18, is being probed as the country’s first-ever terror attack

HELSINKI, Finland — Court documents on Monday identified the suspect in last week’s stabbing spree in a Finnish city — being probed as the country’s first ever terror attack — as 18-year-old Abderrahman Mechkah.

Police have previously described the suspect as an asylum seeker from Morocco who deliberately “targeted women” in the attack in a market square in the southwestern port of Turku on Friday, which left two people dead.

The Turku district court documents did not specify Mechkah’s nationality.

Mechkah, whom police shot in the thigh when they arrested him minutes after the rampage, is to appear before the court on Tuesday via video link, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said.

His court appearance had initially been scheduled for Monday.

Rescue personnel cordon off the area at the Turku Market Square in the Finnish city of Turku where several people were stabbed on August 18, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / Lehtikuva / Roni Lehti)

Police will ask the court to remand him in custody suspected of two murders and eight attempted murders “with terrorist intent.”

Police will also request the detention of four other Moroccan citizens, who were arrested in an overnight raid on a Turku apartment building and refugee housing center just hours after the attack.

“They are suspected of participation in the murders and attempted murders committed with a terrorist intent. They deny any involvement in the offences,” the NBI said in a statement.