OREBRO, Sweden – Sweden on Feb 5 was recovering from the deadliest mass shooting in its history after 10 people – as well as the suspected gunman – were killed at an education centre in the city of Orebro, with many questions still unanswered.
Several media reported that the suspected gunman turned his gun on himself – but police would not confirm those reports.
“Eleven people are dead, including the killer,” police told AFP about Feb 4’s massacre at Campus Risbergska, a secondary school for young adults.
Police did not comment on the number of wounded nor how serious those were but the southern Orebro region said on Feb 4 that six people suffering from gunshot wounds were taken to hospital.
“This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a press conference late on Feb 4.
Mr Kristersson noted a lot of “questions were still unanswered”.
“But there will come a time when we will know what happened, how it could happen and what motives may have been behind it,” Mr Kristersson said, urging people not to “speculate”.
“The motive for the shooting is not yet known, but all the indications are that the perpetrator acted alone, without ideological motive,” Orebro police said in a statement.
Police have not disclosed any information about the identity or ages of the dead, nor whether they were students or teachers at the school.
School attacks are relatively rare in Sweden, but the country has suffered shootings and bombings linked to gang violence that kill dozens of people each year.
“The perpetrator is not known to the police, he has no gang affiliations, we believe there will be no further attacks,” Orebro police chief Roberto Eid Forest told reporters on the evening of Feb 4.
Blood everywhere
Swedish television channel TV4, meanwhile, reported that police had raided the suspect’s home in Orebro late on Feb 4 afternoon.
It said the suspect was around 35 years old and had a licence to carry a weapon and no criminal record, but did not provide any details about his identity.
The man lived reclusively, was unemployed, and had distanced himself from his family and friends, newspaper Aftonbladet reported, citing family members.
The shooting occurred around midday...