Several stabbed, suspect shot in Turku, Finland

Armed Finnish policemen on guard at the Helsinki airport, after stabbings in Turku, in Vantaa, Finland, Aug 18, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

A man stabbed several people in the Finnish town of Turku west of Helsinki on Friday afternoon and police shot the attacker in the leg and arrested him, according to reports.

The local newspaper Ilta-Sanomat reported that one man and five women were injured in the attack in the town that is 94 miles west of Finland's capital.

Security has been reinforced at Helsinki airport and at train stations.

Police asked on Twitter that people leave the town center area where the attack occurred as they search for any other potential perpetrators.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä wrote on Twitter that the government is following the incident and the police operation in Turku closely, and that the government will meet later today.

The country's president, finance and interior ministers have all been made aware of the situation.

The attack comes after 14 people were killed and 100 injured in two terror attacks carried out in Spain on Thursday afternoon and early Friday morning.