Key Points
- At least 11 people were killed in a shooting at an adult education centre in Sweden.
- The suspected gunman is believed to be among the dead, and police continue searching for other possible victims.
- The perpetrator's motive remains unknown, but authorities do not currently suspect terrorism.
At least 11 people were killed in a shooting at an adult education centre in Sweden, police said, with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson calling it the country's "worst mass shooting".
The gunman is believed to be among those killed, and a search is continuing at the school for other possible victims, the local police chief told a press conference. The perpetrator's motive was not immediately obvious.
"We know that 10 or so people have been killed here today. The reason that we can't be more exact currently is that the extent of the incident is so large," local police chief Roberto Eid Forest told reporters.
Forest said police believed the gunman had acted alone and that they did not suspect terrorism as a motive, though he cautioned that much remained unclear. He said the alleged gunman had not previously been known to police.
"We have a big crime scene, we have to complete the searches we are conducting in the school. There are a number of investigative steps we are taking: a profile of the perpetrator, witness interviews ... Obviously, it's a significant amount of work," he said.
Police said they had opened an investigation into murder, arson, and an aggravated weapons offence.
The shooting took place in Orebro, some 200km west of Stockholm, at the Risbergska school for adults who did not complete their formal education or failed to get the grades to continue to higher education. It is located on a campus that also houses schools for children.
"It is a very painful day for the whole of Sweden," Kristersson said on X.
"My thoughts are [also] with all of those whose normal school day was turned into fear. Being locked up in a classroom fearing for your life is a nightmare no one should have to experience."
'We made it out'
Describing the events, Maria Pegado, 54, a teacher at the school, said someone threw open the door to her classroom just after lunch and shouted at everyone to get out.
"I took all my 15 students out into the hallway and we started running," she told Reuters by phone.
"Then I heard two shots but we made it out. We were close to the school entrance.
"I saw people dragging injured out, first one, then another. I realised it was very serious."
Shortly after the incident, Ali Elmokad was outside the Orebro University Hospital looking for his relative, not yet knowing if he was among the injured or the dead.
"We've been trying to get hold of him all day, we haven't been successful," he said, adding that he had a friend who also attended the school. "What she saw was so terrible. She only saw people lying on the floor, injured and blood everywhere."
A hospital spokesperson told Reuters that of the five patients admitted to Orebro University Hospital, one had minor injuries, while four underwent surgery. Two are stable after surgery, while one remains in serious condition.
Police said students had been kept indoors at the school that was targeted and at other schools nearby for their safety. Police later started evacuating those who had taken shelter.
Several addresses in Orebro have been searched since the attack, and the crime scene is being examined by investigators.
Late on Tuesday, police vans and personnel were still outside an apartment building in central Orebro that had been raided earlier.
"We saw a lot of police with drawn weapons," said Lingam Tuohmaki, 42, who lives in the same building. "We were at home and heard a commotion outside."
Speaking at a press conference hours after the attack, Kristersson said a "darkness" had lowered itself across Sweden.
"It is hard to take in the full extent of what has happened today," he said.
King Carl XVI Gustav also conveyed his condolences.
"It is with deep sadness and dismay that my family and I received the news about the terrible atrocity in Orebro."
