Sweden is reeling from its deadliest mass shooting which killed at least 11 people - including the murderer - as investigators piece together what happened at an adult education center in Örebro on Tuesday.
Swedish police confirmed on Tuesday evening that around 10 people were killed in the shooting, which took place at noon at Risbergska Skolan, an education center in Örebro, a city west of Stockholm. The shooter suspect is among the deceased, according to the police.
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Sweden mourns worst school gunshot
Sweden mourns worst school gunshot
Sweden mourns worst school gunshot
Sweden mourns worst school gunshot
Police officers investigating this case described the scene on the campus of Risbergska adult education center "chaos and terror," after the gunman indiscriminately opened fire against anyone who crossed his path.
Various Swedish media outlets have identified the suspect as Rickard Andersson, a 35-year-old resident of Örebro who had been unemployed for nearly a decade, but there has been no official confirmation of his identity.
"The police officers who arrived at the scene have spoken about what could be described as an inferno. Dead people, injured people, screams and smoke," said Lar Wiren, Örebro County Police Chief.
Wirén said officers never fired their weapons but were targeted by the gunman.
Ana Bergkvist, lead investigator of this case, confirmed that the attacker turned the gun around and killed himself.
"He shot himself," she said.
Six injured remain at Örebro University Hospital, most of them in serious but stable condition.
Police said the suspect was armed with three weapons, multiple rounds of ammo, and a knife. He first entered one of the bathrooms on the school campus, changed into what witnesses describe as green military-style clothing, and then began his attack.
Risbergska Skolan mainly serves adults over the age of 20, while also offering primary and secondary school courses and Swedish language classes for immigrants. The city of Örebro is located about 200 km west of Stockholm.
Sweden is mourning with some families still waiting for news, as not all victims have been formally identified outside the school campus.
Residents held back their tears and comforted each other, praying for safety of their families, while some other deplores the public security in decay.
"Sweden has always been a very peaceful country to live in; it's not like that anymore because we get a lot of criminality and violence, lot more than we used to," said Patrick Lungstrom, a resident.
Outside the apartment building of the alleged shooter, neighbors who describe the man as a recluse are also trying to come to grips with this tragedy.
"There was a lot of police and they were in here and asked for the key to come into the apartment and we decided to close that day this office," said Sulemani, staff member of the apartment's leasing office.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that the school shooting in central Sweden's Örebro is the worst mass shooting at a press conference late Tuesday.
Sweden has entered a crisis situation, and it is the government's responsibility to unify the nation, said Mats Knutson, a political analyst a political analyst of Swedish Radio.
Sweden mourns worst school gunshot
Sweden mourns worst school gunshot
Sweden mourns worst school gunshot
Sweden mourns worst school gunshot
