 "Unemployed, 35-year-old recluse: What we know about the Sweden school shooting suspect")
Sweden witnessed its worst mass shooting on Tuesday (February 4) as at least 11 people died, including the gunman, and five others were five seriously wounded at an adult education centre in Orebro, 200 km west of Stockholm. While the attacker’s identity has not been revealed so far, the crime was committed by a 35-year-old unemployed recluse, according to Swedish media.
Gun violence at schools is rare in Sweden and the police believe the shooter acted alone. As the Scandinavian nation reels from the attack, here’s what we know about the shooter.
What happened?
On Tuesday afternoon, a gunman killed at least 10 people at the school, called Campus Risbergska, in Orebro, west of the capital city of Stockholm.
The police said three women and two men, who had gunshot wounds, were treated at the Orebro University Hospital. They were in a stable condition. Another woman sustained minor injuries and was stable.
The adult education centre, where the shooting took place, offers primary and secondary educational classes for adults aged 20 and older. It also hosts Swedish-language classes for immigrants, vocational training and programmes for those with intellectual disabilities, as per Associated Press (AP).
Tuesday’s shooting happened after many students had returned home after a national exam.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson described the attack as the “worst mass shooting in Swedish history”.
“Today, we have witnessed brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people,” he told reporters in Stockholm late Tuesday. “This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history. Many questions remain unanswered, and I cannot provide those answers either.
“But the time will come when we will know what happened, how it could occur, and what motives may have been behind it. Let us not speculate,” he said.
Sweden ’s Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer called the shooting “an event that shakes our entire society to its core.”
What we know about the suspect
The 35-year-old gunman is believed to have killed himself after the attack.
According to officials, the shooter fired at police when they arrived at the school and then likely killed himself.
Police have not confirmed media reports on his age and profile. But they did say that it was a man, that he was not known to them prior to the event and had never been convicted of any crime. They said he had no gang connection.
Police also said they have no clear picture of the motive yet but that nothing so far pointed to an ideological motive behind the attack. They did not reveal if the attacker had multiple guns.
Daily tabloid Aftonbladet, which spoke to relatives of the man believed to be the shooter, described him as a recluse who had limited contact with his family for years.
Swedish public broadcaster SVT, which did not cite its sources, said the attacker, like many in Sweden, had a hunting license and was using a hunting weapon during the shooting. The attacker lived in Orebro, it said.
SVT, Aftonbladet and Expressen tabloid said the gunman had changed his surname several years ago, with no clear indication as to why he did it.
Citing unnamed sources, Aftonbladet reported that the attacker hid his weapon in a “guitar-shaped” box and changed clothes in the school bathroom before he started shooting.
The police raided the suspect’s home in central Orebro after the shooting. Police vans and personnel were still outside the apartment building late Tuesday.
A 35-year-old man was listed as living in the building. Police did not confirm whether he was the suspect.
“We saw a lot of police with drawn weapons,” said Lingam Tuohmaki, 42, who lives in the same building. “We were at home and heard a commotion outside.”
Police have urged the public not to spread incorrect narratives on social media. They said Wednesday they plan to speak to the witnesses and check any video footage of the shooting.
With inputs from Reuters
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