Sweden shooting: What we know about Orebro school gun attack
2025-02-05
Category: news

Police say around 10 people have died in a shooting at an education campus in the city of Orebro.It is the worst school shooting ever to happen in Sweden, where school violence is rare. The suspected gunman is believed to be among the dead. Details are still emerging, but this is what we know so far:
What happened?
Police first received reports of a shooting taking place in Orebro, a city 200km (124 miles) west of Stockholm, at 12:33 local time (11:44 GMT) on Tuesday.The shooting was at Campus Risbergska - a type of school for adults known as Komvux in Swedish, which is primarily for people who did not finish primary or secondary education. There are other schools also on the campus.Teachers have described hearing shots ring out, leading to them fleeing classrooms or barricading themselves inside.Maria Pegado told Reuters she took all of her 15 students out into the hallway and they started running. "I saw people dragging injured out, first one, then another. I realised it was very serious," she said.Another teacher, Lena Warenmark, told public broadcaster SVT she was in her study when she heard gunshots: "There were a few shots first in short succession, a short pause and then a few more".
Police locked down six schools and a restaurant in the area, and people were told to stay away or stay inside their homes.Footage on social media also appeared to show students hiding under desks.And a video filmed from a balcony also appeared to show the sound of shots fired in quick succession, as people rushed away:
How many people were hurt?
Police said "around 10" people were killed, but added they "could not be more specific" about the number.All of those who died were found inside the school building, police said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon. They believe the gunman is among the dead.It is also still not clear how many people were wounded, but Sweden's justice minister said at a news conference there were "many others injured".In the first few hours after the attack, there was confusion over the number of people hurt.Despite media reports of casualties, when the police first gave an official briefing at 15:30 local time, they said only that five people had been injured. Swedish media continued to report that several people had died, and in a second update at 18:00, police confirmed "around 10" people had died.
What do we know about the gunman?
Police said the attacker was a man who they believe had acted alone. He is believed to be among the dead.He was not known to police before the shooting and had no connection to a gang, said Roberto Eid Forest, Orebro's local police chief.Officers also do not believe there was a terror motive to the attack."We're working with secret services but as far as I know, it's a person unknown to police," said Forest, when asked if the perpetrator lived in Orebro.Forest added that he "can't say anything about the kind of weapon" that was used "other than it was a firearm".Asked about reports the gunman shot himself, police said they did not have any information about that.
What do we know about the victims?
Police say they are still working to identify those killed.The school it happened at was municipal adult education, which Sweden's national agency for education explains is for people aged over 20 who did not finish primary or secondary school.Teacher Ms Warenmark said there were unusually few students at the school on Tuesday as many had gone home for the day after sitting a national exam.
How rare are school shootings in Sweden?
Very rare. While there have been school shootings in Sweden before, they have not been of this magnitude.It is "the worst school shooting in Sweden's history" said Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, as he urged people not to speculate about the motive.Last September, there was a school shooting south of Stockholm, when a 15-year-old is suspected to have wounded a classmate - although  that attack was linked to Sweden's problem of gang violence.