Several people stabbed near shopping centre in Finland's Tampere

Four people were stabbed near a shopping centre in Tampere, Finland's third-largest city, on Thursday and one person has been arrested, the police said.

In a later statement, police said that the stabbings had not resulted in any fatalities. They did not give further details on the extent of the injuries nor on the perpetrator.

The situation no longer posed a danger to others, the statement added.

Public broadcaster YLE earlier reported that traffic in the centre of Tampere - located some 180 km (112 miles) north of Helsinki - is at a standstill.

Daily Ilta-Sanomat reported that a witness saw bystanders giving first aid to two people lying on the ground at the time police arrived, and that, according to its information, the person arrested is a Finnish man in his twenties.

Local paper Aamulehti also reported that the person arrested is a man.

Police later said they had checked the surroundings, lifted the earlier cordons and left the scene.