Swedish police said 11 people were killed in a shooting at an adult education centre in Orebro on Tuesday, the 4th of February, with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson calling the day “painful”, the country’s deadliest shooting to date, reports Reuters.
“It is difficult to comprehend the scale of today’s events,” Kristersson said at an evening press conference.
Police Chief Roberto Eid Forest told a news conference that about ten people had been killed, but the exact number was unclear because of the scale of the attack.
The police said that the shooter is believed to be among those killed.
Later in the evening, a statement was published on the police website saying: “So far 11 people have been killed in this incident. The number of injured remains unclear. We have no information on the condition of the injured at this time.”
Police had earlier warned that the death toll could rise as several people were injured. Several victims were taken to hospital and at least four people underwent surgery.
Forrest said police believe the shooter acted alone and is not suspected of terrorism, as well as the motive of the attacker is unknown, but investigations are ongoing. He said that the suspected shooter was not previously known to police.
“We have a major crime scene… We are carrying out a number of investigative measures: we are compiling a profile of the perpetrator of the crime, we are interviewing witnesses,” Forest said.
On Wednesday, Swedish police said that “erroneous stories” were being circulated on social media about the mass shooting.
“We would like to make it clear that, based on investigative and intelligence information, there is currently no information to suggest that the perpetrator acted with ideological motives,” the police said in a brief statement on their website.
The shooting took place in Orebro, about 200km west of Stockholm. At 12:33 local time, police received a report of a shooting at Risbergska School, an adult education centre. This building is located on a campus where other schools are located.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson said it was “the worst mass shooting in Swedish history”.
King Carl XVI Gustaf expressed his condolences. “My family and I received the news of the terrible atrocity in Orebro with deep sadness and dismay,” he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her condolences on X, saying “We stand with the people of Sweden in this dark hour.”
Many students in Sweden’s adult school system are immigrants who want to improve their basic education and get diplomas to help them find jobs in the country, while also learning Swedish.
Sweden is battling a wave of violence caused by gang crime, which in recent years has led the country of 10 million to record the highest per capita rate of gun violence in the European Union.
However, fatal attacks in schools are rare.
According to the Swedish National Crime Prevention Council, ten people were killed in seven school attacks between 2010 and 2022.
Sweden has a high rate of gun ownership by European standards, mainly due to hunting, although it is much lower than in the US, while the gang crime wave has highlighted the high prevalence of illegal guns.