The shooting took place at a high school in Örebro in central Sweden on Tuesday afternoon and has been described as the worst mass shooting in its history.
The school, the Risbergska high school, is one of the most known schools in Örebro, with around 2,000 students, including adult students and migrants learning Swedish. The alarm about an incident in the school went off at around 12:30 yesterday and shootings were heard afterwards. Students and teachers were hiding under desks and in their rooms until the police arrived.
During Tuesday, the exact number was not known and only before midnight did the police announce that 11 eleven persons had been found dead, including the suspected perpetrator.
The gender or age of the victims has not yet been confirmed. The police would not specify how many have been injured. Four women and two men, all over 18 years old, are being treated in a hospital in Örebro, according to a local newspaper. Five of them are seriously injured.
“We have been conducting the investigation since 13:00 yesterday and nothing has come to light so far that suggests there is any ideological motive,” a police spokesperson said. The police also stated that the shooting was not linked to the rampant gang violence in recent years in Sweden.
The identity of the perpetrator seems to be known to the police. In the afternoon heavily armed police surrounded a residential building in Örebro and broke into an apartment in the building.
“It is difficult to grasp the extent of what has happened today,” said Ulf Kristersson, the Swedish Prime Minister, at a press conference on Tuesday evening. “The darkness that is falling over Sweden tonight. Today we have seen brutal deadly violence against completely innocent people. This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history.”
“There are still many answers missing, and I cannot give those answers either,” he added. “But there will come a time when we will know what happened, how it could have happened and what motives may have been behind it. Let's not speculate.”
Condolences and expressions of solidarity with Sweden poured in from the rest of the world. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X: “Our hearts go out to the victims’ families and loved ones. On this painful day, we reunite in mourning with friendly Sweden and share the pain of the Swedish people.”
“What happened today in Örebro is truly horrifying,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X. “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. Our thoughts are with the victims, and we wish them strength and a swift recovery.”
