Two dead after several people were stabbed in Finnish city of Turku

Two people were killed and six people needed hospital treatment after a knife attack in the Finnish city of Turku, police said in a news conference on Friday.

They said there was only one suspect so far, a young man, and added that it was unclear if the incident was related to terrorism. 

Finnish police said one suspect has been shot in the leg and another was arrested.

Police are looking for more potential suspects urging people to avoid the city centre.

Finnish broadcaster YLE  says several people were seen lying on the ground in the central part of the city.

Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat says six people were injured, one man and five women, and that a woman with stroller was attacked by a man with a large knife.

The Turun Sanomat newspaper reported that at least one person was killed in the attack and that police were inspecting departing trains and buses.

An eyewitness saw four or five ambulances near the city's main square, the paper said.

Witness Laura Laine said she was alerted by hearing a young woman screaming loudly at the corner of the market square.

"We saw a man at the square, he had knife in his hand, and he was swinging it in the air. We understood he had stabbed someone," she told YLE.

"The government is closely following the events in Turku and the ongoing police operation. The government will meet later today," Prime Minister Juha Sipila wrote on his Twitter account.

Finnish police said they reinforced security at Helsinki airport and train stations following the stabbings.

The suspect's motive is as yet unknown, as is the number of victims.

This is a developing story.