A horror shooting in Obrero, Sweden, has left 11 people dead, including the suspected gunman, who launched a brutal attack on terrified students on Tuesday afternoon
Terrified Swedish locals heard gunshots and screams before armed police stormed the school.
Students attending an adult education centre in Obrero, Sweden, were brutally attacked on Tuesday after a “man in a mask” entered the building and opened fire. It was around lunchtime for pupils at Risbergska School, which offers Swedish language classes for immigrants and vocational training for people with disabilities.
As armed police scrambled to the school, petrified students hid under their desks and barricaded themselves in classrooms. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters that the country has “witnessed brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people” and described the ordeal as the “worst mass shooting in Swedish history”.
Authorities confirmed 10 people were killed in the attack, with the total number of injuries “currently unclear”. Five people who were shot inside the school were taken to A&E, four have had operations, and one remains critically injured.
In an update on Wednesday morning, police said the gunman also shot himself. Speaking at a press conference this morning, local police chief Roberto Eid Forest said that although the attacker shooting himself cannot be officially confirmed until a full post-mortem, “it appeared that way at this point”. He said that the suspect was already dead when police found him.
Follow the latest on the shooting on our live blog.
The shooting started around 12.30pm local time, after many students had gone home following a national exam, teacher Lena Warenmark told SVT News. She said that she heard around 10 gunshots and was in her study for about an hour. She described a few bangs first in short succession, a short pause, then a few more.
Footage from the campus grounds shows people walking around as normal when suddenly firing breaks out. Parts of the school were thrown into lockdown, while others escaped. Those in classrooms who could not flee hid under desks, and teachers locked themselves in the staffroom for safety.
A witness told Sweden Herald: “I don’t know everything. It’s unclear. I’m still at the school. I’ve heard bangs, probably gunfire.”
Headteacher Mokhtar Bennis sent a text that read: “I’m inside Risbregska, and I’ve got difficulty talking.” A teacher at the school sent a text message to someone on the outside saying they loved them. The witness added: “He wrote there was shooting with automatic weapons at the school and they had taken shelter in a room. Then he wrote he loved me.”
Andreas Sundling, 28, was among those forced to barricade themselves inside the school. “We heard three bangs and loud screams,” he told Expressen newspaper while sheltering in a classroom. “Now we’re sitting here waiting to be evacuated from the school. The information we have received is that we should sit and wait.”
Shocking new footage taken at the time of the incident shows the armed perpetrator, reportedly aged 35, appearing to bend down slightly to get a better view into one of the building’s rooms. He then spots a man filming him from outside the building, and charges towards him, causing the man to call out in fear and run away.
As students sheltered in nearby buildings, a large police presence and multiple ambulances arrived. Hospitals in the city were told to empty emergency rooms to prepare for the arrival of those injured so far. Police urged people to stay away from the area and said there was a “danger to life”, according to police spokesperson Sophia Jiglind.
She said: “There is a risk or threat of deadly violence. The public must stay away from Västhaga right now. We are on site with a lot of resources and are appealing to the public that they must stay away. It is very important.”
A woman working at a local restaurant said several teachers and students took shelter. She said: “They’re not allowed to leave, so we’re keeping them in here. It’s become like a shelter. The students say that there was a masked man who went into the school or was at the school. There are between 30 and 40 people here. The police are on the scene and protecting us.”
There were no warnings beforehand, and police believe the perpetrator acted alone. Police have not said if the man was a student at the school and they have not released a possible motive, but authorities said there were no suspected connections to terrorism at this point.
Roberto Eid Forest, Orebro’s local police chief, said: “We’re working with secret services, but as far as I know, it’s a person unknown to police.” Forest added that he couldn’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.
So far no names have been given by the police on the victims who say they are still trying to identify them and notify their relatives. They have invited families to an event at 10am local time on Wednesday, where they will update them on what is known so far.
