Prompted to harm: analysing the Pirkkala school stabbing and its digital manifesto

On 20 May 2025, a stabbing incident occurred at a school in the town of Pirkkala, southern Finland, in which three female pupils, all under the age of 15, were injured. Prior to the attack, the perpetrator – a 16-year-old male student – sent a manifesto allegedly written with the aid of ChatGPT to a Finnish newspaper.

The attack bears a disturbing resemblance to the all-too-frequent school shootings in the United States, but also a pattern of violent misogynist incidents seen in the UK, such as the 2024 Southport stabbings and the 2025 Bournemouth stabbings. The violent attack also echoes the pattern of extremist violence perpetuated by misogynistic incels (involuntary celibates), who have become a security concern over the last decade.

This Insight will provide an overview of the Pirkkala school stabbing, analyse the perpetrator’s alleged manifesto and discuss its links to the misogynistic incel ideology and the broader rise in violence against women and girls (VAWG). Further, the role of Generative AI (GenAI) as a facilitator in planning violent extremist attacks, and the use of such tools in the perpetuation of Technology Facilitated Gender Based Violence (TFGBV) will be discussed. The Insight will conclude with a discussion of the intersection between technology misuse and misogynistic violence.