According to SVT, a Swedish TV channel, shots were fired at an educational institution on the Risbergska campus in Örebro on Tuesday afternoon. According to the information held by the channel, more than 15 people were injured and several people were killed. The police initially only confirmed that five people were injured, with one of the injured believed to be the suspected perpetrator.
The police have since corrected their statements, according to SVT, with a police spokesperson stating that the suspected perpetrator is “one of the dead”, effectively acknowledging the presence of fatalities. The person is still unknown to the police and it is not ruled out that multiple perpetrators were involved and that the situation could change.
Svenska Dagbladet even reports on ten fatalities, which has since been confirmed by the police. It appears that children were not affected and the institution in question is an adult education center that offers language and integration courses for adult migrants.
The police confirmed in the early evening that around ten people were killed in the shooting, with dead bodies found on the school grounds. It is unclear if there were also victims outside the school, the police said, adding that they are still trying to identify the dead and making no statements about the victims. The police cannot provide an exact number of the dead or injured at the moment, said Roberto Eid Forest, the police district leader in Örebro.
The first reports of the event went out on Tuesday around 2 pm Central European Time. There are reports that the first shots were fired at 12:33 pm local time. No information is available so far on the background of the event.
A video has gone viral on social media, showing shots being fired in the language school in Örebro. The British Guardian reports that the video has been verified and found to be authentic.
The Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, has already commented on the event, as reported by SVT, with the following words:
“With sorrow, I have received information about the terrible act of violence in Örebro. My thoughts are with the affected and their families. It’s a very painful day for all of Sweden. My thoughts are also with all those whose normal school day was turned into a horror. To be in a classroom and fear for one’s life is a nightmare that no one should experience. The government is in close contact with the police authority and is closely following the development of the events. The operation is still ongoing and it is important for the public to follow the police’s information. I also call on the public to give the police the quiet they need to investigate what happened and how these terrible crimes could occur.