Helsinki: Finnish police said Friday that the 23-year-old man suspected of stabbing four people near a shopping centre in Finland had a history of violent crimes.

Police were alerted to the stabbing outside a shopping centre in central Tampere at 4:23 pm (1323 GMT) on Thursday.

The victims received first aid at the scene and were now receiving hospital care for "severe injuries", according to police -- though none of the victims had life-threatening injuries.

The suspect, a 23-year-old Finnish man, put up no resistance as he was arrested at the scene carrying a knife, police said.

He admitted to the stabbings during a preliminary interrogation, saying he had chosen his victims at random and did not know them, according to police.

There was "no reason to suspect that the act was motivated by terrorism or racism", police said.

"When asked why he committed such an act, the perpetrator says that humans are all enemies, that everyone is stalking him," Detective Chief Inspector Sakari Tuominen told a press conference on Friday.

"The motive will be clarified during the preliminary investigation through interviews."

Police said in a statement on Thursday that the incident was being investigated as "four attempted manslaughters", while noting that the type of offences may change as the investigation progresses.

Tuominen added that the 23-year-old had a criminal record, including stabbing a person in 2023 and three counts of aggravated robbery while carrying a knife in 2020.

Police have requested the suspect be remanded in custody and a court hearing is scheduled for Monday.

According to Tuominen, they had several eyewitnesses to the attack, and the incident was over in about a minute.

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