A gunman who caused Sweden’s worst mass shooting with 11 people dead at the Campus Risbergska, an adult education centre, is believed to have shot himself, said police
A gunman is believed to have shot himself after shooting 10 people dead at a school in Sweden, police have said.
Sweden’s worst mass shooting has also left five seriously wounded as well as the 11 dead at an adult education centre west of Stockholm – as officials warned that the death toll could rise.
When asked if the attacker had shot himself, Roberto Eid Forest, the local police chief, at a press conference this morning replied that although this could not be confirmed until after a full post mortem, “it appeared that way at this point”. He said that the suspect was already dead when police found him.
The police chief also said that all the victims have not yet been identified and that as well as six people being treated in hospital with injuries, there are six officers who suffered smoke inhalation. Police are continuing to carry out investigations at the school with a cordon in place while CCTV is examined and people are interviewed.
The gunman’s motive hadn’t been determined yet as the Scandinavian nation — where gun violence at schools is very rare — reeled from an attack with such bloodshed that police early on said it was difficult to count the number of dead among the carnage.
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.
All of the victims are over age 18, officials said. No other patients related to the shooting were admitted to Orebro University Hospital overnight. 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. It is on the outskirts of Orebro, which is about 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.
The shooting started Tuesday afternoon after many students had gone home following a national exam. Students sheltered in nearby buildings, and other parts of the school were evacuated following the shooting. Authorities were working to identify the deceased, and police said the toll could rise.
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. At the same time detectives are still looking into the possibility of whether there were others who helped carry out the attack.
Police raided the suspect’s home after Tuesday’s shooting, but it wasn’t immediately clear what they found. “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.”
