OREBRO, Sweden (AP) — Sweden’s worst mass shooting left at least 11 people dead, including the gunman, and at least five seriously wounded at an adult education center west of Stockholm.
The gunman’s motive hadn’t been determined by midday Wednesday as the Scandinavian nation — where gun violence at schools is very rare — reeled from an attack.
“Not in this place,” Malin Hilmberg, 37, told The Associated Press as she stood near a growing makeshift memorial near the scene. “I mean, we heard about it in different parts of the world, but of course it’s a shock. It’s your hometown and so many lives destroyed. It’s hard to find words.”
Officials said Wednesday that three women and two men, all with gunshot wounds, underwent surgery at Orebro University Hospital. All were in serious but stable condition after being admitted to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Another woman was treated for minor injuries and was stable.
Jonas Claesson, regional director of health and medical services, said that two of the gunshot victims were in intensive care Wednesday. All of the victims are over age 18, officials said. No other patients related to the shooting were admitted to Orebro University Hospital overnight.
Tragedy ‘shakes our entire society to its core’
The school, called Campus Risbergska, offers primary and secondary educational classes for adults age 20 and older, Swedish-language classes for immigrants, vocational training and programs for people with intellectual disabilities. The school is on the outskirts of Orebro, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Stockholm.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer called the shooting “an event that shakes our entire society to its core.” King Carl XVI Gustaf and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the Royal Palace and government buildings. Mourners gathered near outside the school, comforting one another and dropping off candles and flowers to honor the victims.
“It’s very strange to be in the middle, where I live in Sweden, in Orebro, and this is all over the world,” Emelia Fredriksson, 53, said. “They’re seeing us now and it’s a very strange feeling.”
The king and Queen Silvia traveled to Orebro and planned to visit the school district and go to a memorial service in the city, the palace said. Kristersson and Strömmer also planned to attend. Soccer teams Degerfors IF and Orebro Syrianska will wear black armbands at a preseason match on Wednesday evening and hold a minute’s silence before kickoff, Degerfors said.
‘The worst hours of my life’
The shooting started Tuesday afternoon after many students had gone home following a national exam. Survivors scrambled for cover as the shots rang out, sheltering behind or under whatever they could find to escape the gunman and the gore. One woman with children feared she might never see them again, while another used her friend’s shawl to staunch the bleeding of a man who’d been shot in the shoulder.
“Those were the worst hours of my life. I did not know if I would get shot there and then, or in 10 minutes. You simply waited,” Hellen Werme, 35, told the Expressen newspaper.
Other students sheltered in nearby buildings, and other parts of the school were evacuated following the shooting.
Authorities were working to identify the deceased. Police said that officers discovered the gunman dead at the school when they arrived. It was unclear how the gunman died.
Roberto Eid Forest, head of the local police, said that the school’s large premises meant it took a long time for officers to search the campus to ensure there were not any more victims. Police heard gunshots when they arrived and initially thought they were being fired upon, he said.
Eid Forest said that six officers were treated for smoke inhalation. There wasn’t a fire, he said, but authorities didn’t immediately know what caused the smoke.
Investigators will spend Wednesday seeking information from witnesses and checking any video footage of the attack.
Guns in Sweden
Police wouldn’t say whether the shooter had multiple guns, nor would they say what kind of firearm was used in the shooting. While gun violence at schools is very rare in Sweden, people were wounded or killed with other weapons such as knives or axes in several incidents in recent years.
In order to possess a firearm legally, applicants must obtain a weapon license and submit previously obtained hunting or target shooting certificates. Hunting certificates require people to pass a training course, while target shooters must be certified as active and experienced members of clubs.
All weapons must be stored in secure cabinets approved by the police.
No motive yet
There were no warnings beforehand, and police believe the perpetrator acted alone. Police haven’t said if the man was a student at the school. They haven’t released a possible motive, but authorities said there were no suspected connections to terrorism at this point.
Police raided the suspect’s home after Tuesday’s shooting, but it wasn’t immediately clear what they found. Police cautioned the public against spreading incorrect narratives on social media.
“Today, we have witnessed brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people,” the prime minister 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.
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Dazio reported from Berlin. Mimmi Montgomery and Kwiyeon Ha in London, John Leicester in Paris, and Geir Moulson in Berlin, contributed to this report.
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