Police in Helsinki say that the man who killed himself during a downtown raid on Thursday was the main suspect in the murder of a man last week in Sipoo.
The Helsinki police department's chief preliminary investigator Mikko Minkkinen told Yle the suspect killed himself as police tried to apprehend him on Thursday evening on Kasarmikatu in downtown Helsinki.
"It became clear late on Thursday afternoon that the man was likely behind the murder in Sipoo," Minkkinen said.
Minkkinen said the man fired a gun at police as officers approached him at his apartment on Kasarmikatu, adding that police did not fire back.
Officers found the man dead upon entering his apartment. Minkkinen said the man had taken his own life.
Police had also detained a few other suspects in the Sipoo killing earlier on Thursday, but they have since been released and are no longer under investigation.
Police: Long-term grudge possible motive
Police said they believe the suspect had long held a grudge against a 49-year-old man, and that he killed the man in Sipoo last week.
Police had previously confirmed the two men worked at the same insurance firm, the Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company.
Citing information acquired from the insurance firm, Yle reported Friday that the deceased Sipoo man had been the suspect's boss at the company.
Helsingin Sanomat has reported that the murder victim in Sipoo had been tied up and shot, but Minkkinen said those reports came from other sources and declined to confirm it.
"I have not commented on that [piece of information], I have only confirmed that the victim was shot," Minkkinen said.
Case unlikely to go to court
Since the other suspects in the Sipoo killing have been interviewed and cleared of suspicion, investigators will draw their conclusions about the case from other evidence gathered in the probe.
Investigations surrounding the death of the man in Helsinki will likely continue for some time.
"We will write up a preliminary investigation report, but since the main suspect is dead the case will never go to court if we receive additional confirmation that the individual acted alone," Minkkinen said.