 "Suspect among 10 killed in Sweden school shooting; PM says 'worst mass shooting' in country's history")
In a tragic incident on Tuesday, around 10 people were killed in a shooting at an education centre in central Sweden, including the suspected assailant, police officials said.
Sweden’s Prime Minister described the shooting as the “worst mass shooting” in the country’s history.
The shooting, which took place in Orebro, some 200 km (125 miles) west of Stockholm, at the Risbergska school for adults, marks the deadliest school attack in the country’s history.
“Around 10 people have been killed today,” AFP quoted Orebro police chief Roberto Eid Forest as saying to reporters, adding that police could “not be more specific about the number due to the large number of wounded”.
He provided no details about the number of wounded.
“This is a terrible event. This is exceptional, a nightmare,” Forest was quoted as saying.
Police did not release information regarding the identities or ages of the deceased, nor did they specify whether the victims were students or teachers at the Campus Risbergska secondary school for young adults.
Multiple media outlets reported that the suspected gunman may have turned the weapon on himself. However, police have not confirmed these reports.
“The suspected assailant is not known to police. He has no connection to any gang,” AFP quoted Forest as saying, referring to the surge in deadly shootings and bombings linked to gang violence that have plagued Sweden in recent years.
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More Shorts“We don’t expect any other attacks,” Forest added.
Reacting to the development, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said a lot of “questions were still unanswered” as he urged people not to “speculate” about the motive.
“This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history,” AFP quoted Kristersson as saying at a press conference.
Police had earlier said that five people were shot at in the attack.
“This is currently seen as attempted murder, arson and aggravated weapons offence,” police said in a statement, adding that the extent of the injuries of the five people who had been shot was not yet clear.
No police officers were injured in the shooting, the police said. Ambulances, rescue services and police were at the scene, a spokesperson for local rescue services said.
“We have received four patients but cannot say anything about the condition of the injured, but they were admitted to the emergency room at Orebro University Hospital,” an Orebro region spokesperson told Reuters earlier.
Police said students were held indoors at the school that was targeted and at other schools nearby.
“The information about the violent attack in Orebro is extremely serious,” Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told Reuters. “The government is in close contact with the police and is following developments closely.”
Sweden has been struggling with a wave of shootings and bombings springing out of an endemic gang crime problem, though fatal attacks at schools are still 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. In one of the highest profile such crimes in the past decade, a 21-year old masked assailant driven by racist motives killed a teaching assistant and a boy while wounding two others in 2015.
With inputs from agencies
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