The Swedish government announced on Friday its plans to tighten the nation’s gun laws after 11 people were killed in a mass shooting at the Campus Risbergska adult school in Örebro earlier in the week.
In response to the worst mass shooting in Swedish history, the key mandate was to tighten the vetting process for gun ownership licenses and restrict some semi-automatic weapons. The government highlighted the need to enhance the clarity of the suitability assessment for weapon ownership. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also emphasized the need to strengthen the collaboration of the police and the National Board of Health and Welfare regarding individuals’ medical state “to ensure that only the right people have guns in Sweden.”
According to the Weapons Act and the Weapons Ordinance Act, the current eligibility criteria for gun ownership requires applicants to be at least 18 years old, satisfy background checks for criminal records, and provide a valid reason for gun ownership, such as hunting or target practice. Applicants for hunting reasons must have a hunting certificate, and applicants for target practice must be active members of an approved shooting club and pass the test. The firearm licenses in Sweden are not permanent, and the license holders must satisfy all eligibility criteria for periodic license renewals.
The perpetrator of Tuesday’s shooting was identified as a 35-year-old Swedish man named Richard Andersson. The perpetrator was reported to be a licensed owner of four rifles. Three rifles and 10 empty magazines were found next to his dead body at the scene, and the motive remains unknown.
While the rifles used in the incident have not been confirmed to be AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles, Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told Reuters that the government plans to ban AR-15 rifles as a “preventative measure.” The justice minister said: “The right balance is to roll back the regulation and prohibit that kind of weapon.” Noting the frequent use of AR-15 rifles for mass shootings in the United States, Strommer remarked: “We know that kind of weapon, with some changes, can become very dangerous.” Currently, around 3,500 licenses have been granted for ownership of such AR-15s since the government granted their use for hunting in 2023.
Home to approximately 600,000 registered hunters in a population of 10 million people, Sweden has a strong culture of hunting, and citizens’ legal ownership of firearms is a part of the Swedish lifestyle. The increased gun-related violence in recent years calls for striking a balance between cultural appreciation and the need to ensure public safety. According to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, Sweden held the highest rate of gun-related deaths in Europe in 2021. Per European standards, Sweden’s level of gun ownership is high, although it is still much lower than that of the US. According to the Small Arms Survey, a Swiss research institute, the ratio of gun ownership in Sweden was 23 guns per 100 people in 2017, while it was 4.6 guns per 100 people in the UK.