King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (L) and Queen Silvia lay flowers Wednesday at a makeshift memorial to the 10 people killed in a mass shooting on the Risbergska school campus in Orebro. Photo by Anders Wiklund/EPA-EFE
Police in Sweden said Wednesday that they believe a gunman who opened fire, killing 10 people on a school campus in the city of Orebro, acted alone before dying from a gunshot wound and that they were still searching for answers as to why he carried out the attack.
It remained unclear if the gunshot that killed the as-yet unidentified gunman, who also fired at police, was self-inflicted but police said at a news conference that there was “a lot to suggest that” was the case. Advertisement
Six other people, five with gunshot wounds, were being treated in the hospital. Two remained in a grave condition in intensive care. None of the victims were children.
Sweden was in mourning on Wednesday with flags flying at half-mast as King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia visited a memorial nearby that has sprung up in the 24 hours since Tuesday’s shooting, along with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
The king told journalists that he and Queen Silvia were “extremely upset” by the tragedy.
Police did not confirm whether the gunman had a gun license but said he was not known to them prior to the shooting targeting an adult education facility on the Risbergska school campus, where children’s schools are also sited. Advertisement
Authorities have mounted a major investigation involving more than 100 specialists from local, regional and national agencies into the shooting in Orebro, 125 miles west of the capital Stockholm.
No motive has been established for why the gunman singled out the adult learning center but police stressed they didn’t think it had an “ideological” basis and warned people not to speculate or spread disinformation online.
One school student told the BBC that many of the students at the adult education school were immigrants who were taking Swedish language classes.
Local police said Tuesday that all of the deceased and injured were found inside the adults’ school.
“This is an awful, exceptional incident — a nightmare,” said Orebro Police Chief Roberto Eid Forest. “We do not think there is any terror motive behind this, but it is too early in the investigation to say.”
Kristersson called it the “worst mass shooting in Swedish history.”
“It is difficult to take in the magnitude of what has happened,” he said.
