Worst mass shooting in Sweden’s history as around 10 killed at adult education centre
Swedish police have said around 10 people have been killed at an adult education centre, in what the country’s prime minister said is the worst mass shooting in Sweden’s history.
The attack happened at around 12.30pm local time (11.30am UK time) at Campus Risbergska in the town of Orebro, around 200km (125 miles) west of the capital Stockholm.
A spokesperson told a news conference on Tuesday evening that police believe the “primary perpetrator” is dead and acted alone. They do not expect more attacks, the spokesperson added.
Police at the scene of the shooting. Pic: AP/Kicki Nilsson/TT News Agency
Police said they carried out investigations at various addresses in Orebro, with technical personnel working at the scene.
Sweden shooting latest: ‘Everything points to typical loner attack’
“At present, the police believe that the perpetrator acted alone, but we cannot rule out more perpetrators connected to the incident,” the update on the Swedish police’s website said.
Police also said they do not know the motive but do not believe it is terrorism, adding they “had no warning sign” about the attack.
Officers are working to identify the perpetrator and the victims.
The damage at the crime scene was so extensive that investigators were unable to be more definitive on the number killed, said Roberto Eid Forest, head of the local police.
Head of the local police Roberto Eid Forest. Pic: Reuters
“When it comes to saying anything more about the perpetrator, it is still very early. The operation is ongoing and that will undoubtedly become clearer. But we are working very intensively right now,” Mr Forest said.
He described the attack as a “horrible” incident, calling it “exceptional” and a “nightmare”.
The suspected gunman had not previously been known to police, Mr Forest said..
Speaking at a press conference this evening, Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson said the tragedy is the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.
“Today, we have witnessed brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people,” Mr Kristersson told reporters.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. File pic: AP
“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,” he said.
Meanwhile, the country’s king Carl XVI Gustaf said the shooting was a “terrible atrocity”.
King Carl Gustaf. File pic: AP
“We send our condolences tonight to the families and friends of the deceased. Our thoughts at this time also go to the injured and their relatives, as well as to others affected.
“My family and I would like to express our great appreciation for the police, rescue and medical personnel who worked intensively to save and protect human lives on this dark day.”
Police earlier urged the public to stay away from the centre as they were searching and evacuating the premises.
At least five people were taken to hospital. Four underwent surgery – one is critically injured, two are stable and one is lightly injured, police said at an earlier news conference.
Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter said police officers had been shot at, but police said no officers had been shot.
A police officer at the school. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
The centre is for students over the age of 20, according to its website. It offers primary and upper secondary school courses, as well as Swedish classes for immigrants, vocational training and programmes for people with intellectual disabilities.
Google Maps shows a number of schools for children in the vicinity.
The shooting happened after many students had gone home following a national exam.
A police helicopter above the scene. Pic: AP
Students were taking shelter in nearby buildings and other parts of the campus were evacuated.
Teacher Lena Warenmark told SVT News that there were unusually few students on the campus on Tuesday afternoon after the exam. She also told the broadcaster that she heard probably 10 gunshots.
Andreas Sundling, 28, was among those forced to barricade themselves inside the school.
Read more: What we know about Sweden shooting so far
“We heard three bangs and loud screams,” he told the 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.”
Police cars pass near the Campus Risbergska school. Pic: Reuters
Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported one person trapped in the centre as saying: “We have heard several shots outside.”
The newspaper also quoted a person who had received a text from a teacher at the centre saying “there was a shooting with automatic weapons”.
It said local emergency and intensive care departments are being made ready for casualties.
Fatal attacks at educational establishments in Sweden are rare, with 10 killed in seven incidents between 2010 and 2022, according to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.
World
‘At least 798 killed’ at Gaza aid points – as medical charity warns acute malnutrition at all-time high
At least 798 people in Gaza have reportedly been killed while receiving aid in the past six weeks – while acute malnutrition is said to have reached an all-time high.
The UN human rights office said 615 of the deaths – between 27 May and 7 July – were “in the vicinity” of sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
A further 183 people killed were “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” said Ravina Shamdasani, from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Its figures are based on a range of sources, including hospitals, cemeteries, and families in the Gaza Strip, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), its partners on the ground, and Hamas-run health authorities.
Aid agency Project Hope said on Thursday that 10 children were among at least 15 people killed as they waited for its clinic in Deir al Balah to open.
Ten children were reportedly killed when Israel attacked near a clinic on Thursday. Pic: AP
The GHF has claimed the UN figures are “false and misleading” and has repeatedly denied any violence at or around its sites.
Meanwhile, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) – also known as Doctors Without Borders – said two of its sites were seeing their worst-ever levels of severe malnutrition.
Cases at its Gaza City clinic are said to have tripled from 293 in May to 983 in early July.
“Over 700 pregnant or breastfeeding women and nearly 500 children are now receiving emergency nutritional care,” MSF said.
The humanitarian medical charity said food prices were at extreme levels, with sugar at $766 (£567) per kilo and flour $30 (£22) per kilo, and many families surviving on one meal of rice or lentils a day.
It’s a major concern for the estimated 55,000 pregnant women in Gaza, who risk miscarriage, stillbirth and malnourished infants because of the shortages.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the coastal territory.
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US aid contractors claim live ammo fired at Palestinians
It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip.
The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid.
The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what it says is a suspicious manner.
It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies from falling into the hands of militants.
Read more:
GHF aid distribution linked to increased deaths
Gaza situation ‘apocalyptic’, says UN expert
After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach the aid hubs, the United Nations has called the GHF’s aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In response, a GHF spokesperson said: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”
The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs.
At least 798 people in Gaza have been killed while receiving aid in six weeks, the UN human rights office has said.
A spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said 615 of the killings were “in the vicinity” of sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
A further 183 people killed were “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
The office said its figures are based on numbers from a range of sources, including hospitals, cemeteries and families in the Gaza Strip, as well as NGOs, its partners on the ground and the Hamas-run health authorities.
The GHF has claimed the figures are “false and misleading”. It has repeatedly denied there has been any violence at or around its sites.
The organisation began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the enclave.
It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip. The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid.
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US aid contractors claim live ammo fired at Palestinians
The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what they say is a suspicious manner.
It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies falling into the hands of militants.
Read more:
GHF aid distribution linked to increased deaths
Gaza situation ‘apocalyptic’, says UN expert
After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach the aid hubs, the United Nations has called the GHF’s aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In response, a GHF spokesperson told the Reuters news agency: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”
The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs.
Ten children and two women are among at least 15 killed in an airstrike near a Gaza health clinic, according to an aid organisation.
Project Hope said it happened this morning near Altayara Junction, in Deir al Balah, as patients waited for the clinic to open.
The organisation’s president called it a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no one and no place is safe in Gaza“.
“No child waiting for food and medicine should face the risk of being bombed,” added the group’s project manager, Dr Mithqal Abutaha.
“It was a horrific scene. People had to come seeking health and support, instead they faced death.”
Operations at the clinic – which provides a range of health and maternity services – have been suspended.
Some of the children were reportedly waiting to receive nutritional supplements, necessary due to the dire shortage of food being allowed into Gaza.
Israel‘s military is investigating and said it was targeting a militant who took part in the 7 October terror attack.
“The IDF [Israel Defence Force] regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible,” added.
The deaths come as an agreement over a 60-day truce hangs in the balance – with President Trump cautiously saying it could happen “this week, or next week”.
Elsewhere in Gaza, the Nasser Hospital reported another 21 deaths in airstrikes in Khan Younis and in the nearby coastal area of Muwasi.
It said three children and their mother were among the dead.
Israel said its troops have been dismantling more than 130 Hamas infrastructure sites in Khan Younis over the past week, including missile launch sites, weapons storage facilities and a 500m tunnel.
On Wednesday, a soldier was shot dead when militants burst out of a tunnel and tried to abduct him, the military added.
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Do Trump and Netanyahu really get along?
Eighteen soldiers have been killed in the past three weeks – one of the deadliest periods for the Israeli army in months.
A 22-year-old Israeli man was also killed on Thursday by two attackers in a supermarket in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said the Magen David Adom emergency service.
People on site reportedly shot and killed the attackers but information on their identity has so far not been released.
Read more:
IDF chief says conditions ‘created’ for Gaza ceasefire
What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal ?
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Lack of food and water ‘lethal’ for Gaza children
Negotiations over a proposed 60-day ceasefire are ongoing and President Trump reportedly put “heavy” pressure on Israel’s leader, who visited the US this week.
A major sticking point is said to be the status of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire and beyond, should it last longer.
However, Sky News understands the Israeli government thinks the chances of a permanent truce are “questionable”.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war – more than half are women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry.
Its figure does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
The war began in October 2023 after Hamas killed around 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 251 others.
Some of them remain In Gaza and are a crucial part of ceasefire negotiations, which also include a planned surge in humanitarian aid into the strip.
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