Sweden Plans Tighter Gun Laws After Orebro Mass Shooting

Sweden will tighten its already strict gun laws, the government said on Friday, days after a lone gunman killed at least 10 people in an attack the prime minister has called the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.

New legislation was already being planned, based on the findings of a 2022 inquiry. After the mass shooting on Tuesday, at an adult education center in the central city of Orebro, it has been fast-tracked.

The proposal has not been formalized, but it will likely strengthen the basic requirements for acquiring a gun license, instructing the police to take into account age, weapons knowledge and skills as well as the person’s criminal history. It will also likely call for broader checks on the applicant’s medical history.

The new rules would make it more difficult to access semiautomatic assault weapons such as AR-15-style rifles. The firearm, lightweight and compatible with large magazines, has been permitted as a hunting rifle in Sweden since 2023. Under the new act, access to the weapon and similar types of firearms will be greatly restricted.

“The rules on gun possession are about balancing society’s interest in preventing crime and accidents involving firearms and the interest in individuals and organizations having the opportunity to possess firearms in justified cases,” the government said in a statement.

“We want to ensure that only the right people have guns in Sweden,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told the Swedish news agency TT while on a working visit to Latvia.