[1] The attack began in a classroom at Savo Vocational College, located in the premises of the Herman shopping mall.

Students in the classroom described how Marin arrived to class with a "long bag", took out a longsword and began stabbing people.

The police found several incendiary devices similar to a Molotov cocktail when they searched Marin's apartment after the attack.

[8] The Finnish Parliament (eduskunta) held a minute-long moment of silence the day after the attack to honor the victims.

Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne called the violence "shocking and completely unacceptable"[9] and visited Kuopio on 4 October.