OREBRO:The shooter who earlier this week killed 10 people in Sweden\u2019s worst mass shooting was connected to the adult education center where he opened fire with at least one rifle-like weapon, law enforcement officials said Thursday.
\nAuthorities said the gunman, who has not yet been officially identified, may have attended school there before Tuesday\u2019s violence on the school campus west of Stockholm. The shooter was later found dead with three guns, 10 empty magazines and a large amount of unused ammunition next to his body, officials told a news conference.
\nIt was not clear how he died but officials said officers did not return his gunfire.
\nThe school, 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, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Stockholm.
\nSome 130 officers arrived Tuesday after alarms summoned them to the school to find chaos across the campus. They described the scene as an \u201cinferno\u201d and believe the gunman turned his weapon toward them as they entered the building.
\n\u201cDead people, injured people, screams and smoke,\u201d local police chief Lars Wir\u00e9n said during the news conference. \u201cMany people running inside and outside the premises.\u201d
\nOfficers found at least five people, all over age 18 with serious gunshot wounds. Two of them remained in intensive care Thursday in serious but stable condition. The other three were in stable condition after surgery.
\nA sixth person was treated for minor injuries.
\nPolice were forced to search the large school \u2014 17,000 square meters (180,000) square feet) \u2014 to ensure there were no other casualties.
\nInvestigators had not uncovered a definitive motive behind the bloodshed by Thursday. Police said there were no warnings beforehand, and they believe the perpetrator acted alone. Authorities said there were no suspected connections to terrorism at this point.
\nDays of \u2018shock and grief\u2019
\nIn Orebro, a town of 160,000 that\u2019s considered Sweden\u2019s seventh-largest municipality, Thursday brought more sadness but still few answers.
\n\u201cIt has been two days of shock and grief,\u201d John Johansson, chairman of the town\u2019s municipal board, told The Associated Press. \u201cWe are still asking questions of why, still wondering what has happened. The outpouring of grief and togetherness has been enormous.\u201d
\nKing Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, as well as Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, visited Orebro on Wednesday and attended a memorial service. The Swedish Football Association pledged to begin its future international matches with a moment of silence.
\nMourners elsewhere in the the Scandinavian nation, where gun violence at schools is very rare, struggled to process the thought of mass violence in their own country.
\n\u201c\u201cThis is not a Swedish problem, it\u2019s a problem that we have seen throughout the world,\u201d Johansson said.
\nThe shooting\u2019s online presence has prompted friends of Orebro resident Petter Jorman, a 60-year-old father whose son previously attended the school, to call and text him asking \u201chow are you? Are you OK? I know you live close.\u201d
\n\u2018The worst hours of my life\u2019
\nThe shooting started Tuesday afternoon, after many students had gone home following a national exam. Survivors scrambled for cover as shots rang out, sheltering behind or under whatever they could find to escape the gunman and the gore. One woman with children feared she might never see them again, while another used her friend\u2019s shawl to staunch the bleeding of a man who\u2019d been shot in the shoulder.
\n\u201cThose were the worst hours of my life. I did not know if I would get shot there and then, or in 10 minutes. You simply waited,\u201d Hellen Werme, 35, told the Expressen newspaper.
\nGuns in Sweden
\nWhile gun violence at schools is very rare in Sweden, people were wounded or killed with other weapons such as knives or axes in several incidents in recent years.
\nAuthorities said the shooter had licenses for four weapons, three of which were found next to his body. Police have seized the fourth.
\nIn order to possess a firearm legally, applicants must obtain a weapon license and demonstrate that it will be used for an acceptable purpose, such as hunting or target shooting, and not be misused. Applicants must also submit previously obtained hunting or target shooting certificates. Hunting certificates require people to pass a training course, while target shooters must be certified as active and experienced members of clubs.
\nIn Sweden, a country of roughly 10.5 million people, there were just over 660,000 registered gun owners at the beginning of 2024, according to the Swedish news agency TT. Those registered owners had some 2 million guns, objects that are considered firearms and weapon parts that require a permit.
\nTT reported that 1.6 million of those guns are registered for hunting, and another 176,000 for target-shooting.
\nAll weapons must be stored in secure cabinets approved by the police. Applications for fully automatic weapons or one-handed weapons are only granted for exceptional reasons, and such permits are generally time-limited.
\nPermits are revoked if the weapon is modified to be substantially different from its original function.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OREBRO:The shooter who earlier this week killed 10 people in Sweden\u2019s worst mass shooting was connected to the adult education center where he opened fire with at least one rifle-like weapon, law enforcement officials said Thursday. Authorities said the gunman, who has not yet been officially identified, may have attended school there before Tuesday\u2019s violence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460088,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-460073","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n