The worst mass shooting in Swedish history was carried out by a 35-year-old Swedish man who lived locally, had been unemployed for a decade and had changed his first and last name, a police source and tax data show.
Police have not publicly confirmed the age and profile of the attacker, who killed at least 11 people and wounded others before apparently turning his hunting rifle on himself in Tuesday’s shooting at an adult education centre in Orebro, 200 km (125 miles) west of Stockholm.
They said the suspect, who died at the scene, was not known to them prior to the event and had never been convicted of any crime. They also said he had no gang connection and was believed to have acted alone.
Police said nothing so far pointed to an ideological motive behind the attack, in which the suspect fired at police when they arrived at the school. They said they later found him dead.
Little has been said publicly about the victims. Students and teachers have told Reuters and local media that they tried to save the lives of their comrades before fleeing the scene.
Daily tabloid Aftonbladet, which spoke to relatives of the man believed to be the shooter, described him as a recluse who had had limited contact with his family for years.
Swedish public broadcaster SVT, which did not cite its sources, said the attacker, like many in Sweden, had a hunting license and was using a hunting weapon during the shooting.
Tax data showed that the attacker last declared work-related income in 2014 and that he lived in a one-bedroom apartment in a low-rise building less than a kilometer (around half a mile) from the city centre.
Late on Tuesday, police vans and personnel were still stationed outside. The police source confirmed that was the suspect’s flat.
“We saw a lot of police with drawn weapons,” said Lingam Tuohmaki, 42, who lives in the same building.
The school where the attack was carried out teaches adults who did not complete school or are seeking higher grades to access higher education. It is located on a campus that also houses schools for children.
The country has a high level of gun ownership by European standards, mainly linked to hunting, though it is much lower than in the United States. A gang crime wave has highlighted the high incidence of illegal weapons in Sweden.
Citing unnamed sources, Aftonbladet reported that the attacker hid his weapon in a “guitar-shaped” box and changed clothes in the school bathroom before he started shooting.
(Reuters)
