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Al Jazeera
05-02-2025
- Al Jazeera
Sweden school shooting: What we know about the victims and attacker
EXPLAINER Swedish police warn that the death toll from the shooting at Risbergska School in Orebro city may rise. 01:53 By Published On 5 Feb 2025 A shooting on Tuesday at an adult education campus in central Sweden killed at least 11 people, including the attacker, the police said on Wednesday. Here is what we know so far: What happened and when? A shooting took place in an adult school in the city of Orebro at 12:33pm local time (11:33 GMT) on Tuesday and the police initially reported that five people were killed. Shots were fired in quick succession, witnesses say and videos show. Teachers inside the school said that when they heard the gunshots, they fled classrooms or barricaded themselves inside. Maria Pegado, 54, a teacher at the school, told Reuters: 'I took all my 15 students out into the hallway and we started running. Then I heard two shots but we made it out. We were close to the school entrance. I saw people dragging injured out, first one, then another. I realised it was very serious.' Where was the shooting? The shooting took place at Campus Risbergska in Orebro city, 200km (124 miles) west of the Swedish capital Stockholm. What is Risbergska School for adults? The school is for people over 20 years of age who were unable to complete their formal education or who did not receive the grades they needed for higher education. Schools such as Risbergska are known as 'Komvux' in Swedish. The school caters for about 2,000 students and also offers vocational training and Swedish language classes. What do we know about the attacker? Swedish police say the suspected attacker – a man – was dead when they found him. Orebro police chief Roberto Eid Forest told a news conference on Wednesday that 'there is a lot to indicate that' the suspect had turned the gun on himself. The police said the motive for the shooting is as yet unclear and under investigation, but they believe he was acting alone. The attacker was unknown to police before the shooting, and the police said they did not find links between him and any gangs or groups. It is unclear if this means that any link to terrorism has been ruled out. Swedish public service television company Sveriges Television (SVT) said, without citing sources, that the man lived in Orebro and had a hunting licence. The broadcaster added that he was using a hunting weapon. Swedish daily tabloid Aftonbladet reported that the man was 35 years old. The outlet reported that relatives said he was a recluse who had withdrawn from family and friends. What do we know about the victims? Authorities confirmed on Wednesday that 11 people, including the attacker, were killed. Authorities have not confirmed the number of people injured yet, and the police have warned that the death toll could rise, according to SVT. The police told the Wednesday news conference that six people had been taken to the local university hospital, five of whom had gunshot wounds. Two people remain in intensive care. 'We do not have a complete picture at this time regarding the number of injured,' police spokesperson Fredrik Svedemyr was quoted by Anadolu news agency as saying. 'Since we also do not have any information about the injury situation for those being treated in hospital, there is unfortunately a risk that the number will not stop at 11,' said Svedemyr. What are the reactions? Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf said in a statement on Tuesday that he had received the news of the shooting with 'sadness and dismay'. All flags of government buildings and royal palaces were flying at half-staff on Wednesday. This was announced in media releases from the government, royal family and parliament speaker. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on X on Tuesday: 'It is a very painful day for all of Sweden. Being locked in a classroom, fearing for your life, is a nightmare that no one should have to experience.' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote in an X post: 'Such violence and terror have no place in our societies – least of all in schools. In this dark hour, we stand with the people of Sweden.' 16-year-old Linn, a pupil who attends school near the site of the shooting told AFP: 'I was standing there, watching what was happening, and I was just around here when I saw some bodies lying on the ground. I don't know if they were dead or injured.' Liv Demir, 36, whose son attends a school nearby, and also takes gym classes at Campus Risbergska, told AFP: 'I became numb, speechless. I didn't really know where to go.' How rare are shootings in Sweden? Shootings in Sweden used to be rare. PM Kristersson told reporters that the attack was 'the worst mass shooting in Swedish history'. However, Sweden has seen a rise in shootings and bombings associated with gang violence. There were 296 shootings in Sweden in 2024, which resulted in the deaths of 44 people and injuries to 66 people, police data shows. The record for the highest number of shootings was in 2022 when 391 shootings took place across Sweden. Some 62 people died and 107 were injured during that year. There have also been some recent incidents of violence at schools in Sweden. In March 2022, a student, 18, stabbed and killed two teachers in Sweden's city of Malmo. In October 2015, a man stabbed a teacher and student to death in a school with a high number of immigrants in the industrial city of Trollhattan. The man, identified by Swedish media as 21-year-old Anton Lundin Pettersson, was reported to have far-right sympathies and was shot dead by police.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Yahoo
What we know so far about Sweden school shooting
Police say around 10 people have died in a shooting at an education campus in the city of Orebro. It is the worst school shooting ever to happen in Sweden, where school violence is rare. The suspected gunman is believed to be among the dead. Details are still emerging, but this is what we know so far: Police first received reports of a shooting taking place in Orebro, a city 200km (124 miles) west of Stockholm, at 12:33 local time (11:44 GMT) on Tuesday. The shooting was at Campus Risbergska - a type of school for adults known as Komvux in Swedish, which is primarily for people who did not finish primary or secondary education. There are other schools also on the campus. Teachers have described hearing shots ring out, leading to them fleeing classrooms or barricading themselves inside. Maria Pegado told Reuters she took all of her 15 students out into the hallway and they started running. "I saw people dragging injured out, first one, then another. I realised it was very serious," she said. Another teacher, Lena Warenmark, told public broadcaster SVT she was in her study when she heard gunshots: "There were a few shots first in short succession, a short pause and then a few more". Police locked down six schools and a restaurant in the area, and people were told to stay away or stay inside their homes. Footage on social media also appeared to show students hiding under desks. And a video filmed from a balcony also appeared to show the sound of shots fired in quick succession, as people rushed away: Police said "around 10" people were killed, but added they "could not be more specific" about the number. All of those who died were found inside the school building, police said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon. They believe the gunman is among the dead. It is also still not clear how many people were wounded, but Sweden's justice minister said at a news conference there were "many others injured". In the first few hours after the attack, there was confusion over the number of people hurt. Despite media reports of casualties, when the police first gave an official briefing at 15:30 local time, they said only that five people had been injured. Swedish media continued to report that several people had died, and in a second update at 18:00, police confirmed "around 10" people had died. Police said the attacker was a man who they believe had acted alone. He is believed to be among the dead. He was not known to police before the shooting and had no connection to a gang, said Roberto Eid Forest, Orebro's local police chief. Officers also do not believe there was a terror motive to the attack. "We're working with secret services but as far as I know, it's a person unknown to police," said Forest, when asked if the perpetrator lived in Orebro. Forest added that he "can't say anything about the kind of weapon" that was used "other than it was a firearm". Asked about reports the gunman shot himself, police said they did not have any information about that. Police say they are still working to identify those killed. The school it happened at was municipal adult education, which Sweden's national agency for education explains is for people aged over 20 who did not finish primary or secondary school. Teacher Ms Warenmark said there were unusually few students at the school on Tuesday as many had gone home for the day after sitting a national exam. Very rare. While there have been school shootings in Sweden before, they have not been of this magnitude. It is "the worst school shooting in Sweden's history" said Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, as he urged people not to speculate about the motive. Last September, there was a school shooting south of Stockholm, when a 15-year-old is suspected to have wounded a classmate - although that attack was linked to Sweden's problem of gang violence.
