Finnish Police Shoot Suspect Who Downed Their Drone In Nurmijärvi Standoff

A suspect in Nurmijärvi, Finland shot down a police surveillance drone during a standoff at a private residence. He then tried to leave the cordoned area while still armed. Police shot him.

The suspect survived with non-life-threatening injuries. The drone did not.

• What happened: East Uusimaa Police deployed a drone during an operation at a private residence. The suspect shot it down, then attempted to flee the perimeter with his weapon.
• The response: Officers fired to stop him. He was apprehended, hospitalized, and his weapon was seized.
• The source: Aamuposti and MTV Uutiset, citing East Uusimaa Police statements. The Helsinki Police Department is handling the investigation.

DroneXL Has Tracked This Pattern For Years

Suspects shooting at police drones is not new. What’s changed is how often it happens and how it ends.

In Killeen, Texas in 2020, a man fired at a KPD drone during a standoff and was arrested without injury. In Florida in 2021, a felon with 29 prior convictions shot down a Lake County Sheriff’s Office drone, becoming the first person federally prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. § 32 for destroying an unmanned aircraft.

Then the incidents accelerated. In Minneapolis, Kansas in June 2024, a suspect fired at both officers and a surveillance drone. Police returned fire, hitting him multiple times. He survived. In Tawas Township, Michigan in February 2025, a 21-year-old shot down a DJI Air 3 with a shotgun during a mental health crisis. He was charged with felony assault with a dangerous weapon. In San Francisco in March 2025, a suspect shot at an SFPD drone before engaging officers in a shootout. And in Lee’s Summit, Missouri in November 2025, a car prowler fired two shots at a tracking drone, missed, and was arrested after a foot chase.

Finland follows the Kansas pattern: a suspect already committed to violence who also targeted the drone. In both cases, police used force because the individual posed a direct armed threat to people, not because he destroyed the aircraft.

DFR Programs Are Scaling. This Risk Comes With Them

Police departments are investing heavily in drone-as-first-responder programs. New Orleans just requested $740,000 for 24/7 DFR docking stations. Sterling Heights, Michigan launched an Axon-Skydio DFR program funded by federal forfeiture money. The pitch is straightforward: send a drone before a patrol car.

The expansion isn’t without controversy — New Orleans’ proposal already faces pushback from privacy groups concerned about 24/7 aerial surveillance. But even supporters of DFR programs need to reckon with a more immediate operational risk: someone shooting at the drone. As the Michigan case showed, even a consumer-grade DJI Air 3 operating at 250 yards can be hit by a shotgun. Police drones aren’t armored. They’re lightweight cameras designed for observation, not combat.

DroneXL’s Take

The Finland incident confirms what this pattern makes clear: as police drone programs expand, armed confrontations with drones will become routine.

The real question isn’t whether it happens. It’s what agencies learn from it. Longer-range zoom lenses that keep drones outside effective shotgun range would help. Redundant aircraft that can pick up surveillance when one goes down would too. The Michigan case prompted Oscoda Township to note the need for stronger airframes and evasion capabilities. Those upgrades should be standard for any DFR program operating in armed-suspect scenarios.

The math still favors sending the drone first. A downed drone is a budget line item. A downed officer is a tragedy. That calculus hasn’t changed since Killeen in 2020, and it won’t change in Nurmijärvi in 2026.

Editorial Note: This article was researched and drafted with the assistance of AI to ensure technical accuracy and archive retrieval. All insights, industry analysis, and perspectives were provided exclusively by Haye Kesteloo and our other DroneXL authors, editors, and YouTube partners to ensure the “Human-First” perspective our readers expect.

Last update on 2026-01-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API