Sweden school shooting latest: Suspect among 11 dead in ‘worst mass shooting’ in country’s history

Campus Risbergska serves students above the age of 20, offering primary and upper secondary courses along with Swedish classes for immigrants, vocational training and programs for people with intellectual disabilities, according to the website.

Many students in Sweden’s adult school system are immigrants seeking to improve basic education and gain degrees to help them find jobs in the Nordic country while also learning Swedish.

Police did not disclose any information about the identity of the victims.

“Incorrect narratives” were being spread on social media about the shooting, said police chief Roberto Eid Forest, in a late night address, as he clarified that motives of the gunman were under investigation.

“According to investigation data and intelligence data, there is currently no information that indicates that the perpetrator acted based on ideological motives,” the statement said.

Earlier the police said, that they believe the gunman acted alone, as they ruled out terrorism as a motive.

Sweden has been struggling with a wave of shootings and bombings caused by an endemic gang crime problem that has seen the country of 10 million people record by far the highest per capita rate of gun violence in the EU in recent years.

In one of the highest-profile crimes of the past decade, a 21-year-old masked assailant driven by racist motives killed a teaching assistant and a boy and wounded two others in 2015.

Sweden has been struggling with a wave of shootings and bombings caused by an endemic gang crime problem that has seen the country of 10 million people recording by far the highest per capita rate of gun violence in the EU in recent years.

However, fatal attacks at schools are rare.

Ten people were killed in seven incidents of deadly violence at schools between 2010 and 2022, according to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.

Sweden has a high level of gun ownership by European standards, mainly linked to hunt, though it is much lower than in the United States, while the gang crime wave has highlighted the high incidence of illegal weapons.

In one of the highest-profile crimes of the past decade, a 21-year-old masked assailant driven by racist motives killed a teaching assistant and a boy and wounded two others in 2015.

In 2017, a man driving a truck mowed down shoppers on a busy street in central Stockholm before crashing into a department store. Five people died in that attack.

Maria Pegado, 54, a teacher at the school, said someone threw open the door to her classroom just after lunch break and shouted to everyone to get out.

“I took all my 15 students out into the hallway and we started running,” she told Reuters by phone. “Then I heard two shots but we made it out. We were close to the school entrance.

“I saw people dragging injured out, first one, then another. I realised it was very serious,” she said.

Ali Elmokad was outside the Orebro University Hospital, looking for his relative, not yet knowing if he was among the injured or the dead.

“We’ve been trying to get hold of him all day, we haven’t been successful,” he said, adding that he had a friend who also attended the school. “What she saw was so terrible. She only saw people lying on the floor, injured and blood everywhere.”

Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen expressed support to neighbouring Sweden, calling Tuesday’s shooting “a terrible situation.”

“I am so sad and all my thoughts are with the victims and their families and with the entire Swedish community and society,” she said after a meeting with Keir Starmer in London.

“It’s a terrible situation. And of course, our neighbouring countries have all of our support.”

Swedish police have ruled out terrorism in the mass shooting at an adult education centre as they continue to investigate the incident.

“We know that 10 or so people have been killed here today. The reason that we can’t be more exact currently is that the extent of the incident is so large,” local police chief Roberto Eid Forest told a news conference.

Mr Forest told the press conference police believed the gunman had acted alone and that terrorism was not currently suspected as a motive, though he cautioned that much remained unknown. He said the suspected gunman had not previously been known to police.

“We have a big crime scene, we have to complete the searches we are conducting in the school. There are a number of investigative steps we are taking: a profile of the perpetrator, witness interviews,” Mr Forest said.

A search is on for other possible victims of school shooting, said police.

“We currently have no information on the condition of those who have been injured,” local police chief Roberto Eid Forest.

The shooting took place in Orebro, some 200km west of Stockholm, at the Risbergska school for adults who did not complete their formal education or failed to get the grades to continue to higher education. It is located on a campus that also houses schools for children.

Police said the gunman was believed to be among those killed, adding that the motive of the attacker was not immediately known.

“We have a big crime scene, we have to complete the searches we are conducting in the school. There are a number of investigative steps we are taking: a profile of the perpetrator, witness interviews,” local police chief Roberto Eid Forest said.