‘Dark Day’: Survivors, village mourning victims of the most deadly mass shootings in Sweden
The survivors of the worst mass shooting on Wednesday recalled trying to rescue the life of their companions at the school for adults in Örebro, the day after the attacker killed 11 people to what the Prime Minister called the “dark day” in the history of the country.
Police said there was no evidence that the suspects, called by the Swedish media as Rickard Anderson, a 35-year-old unemployed hermit, had “ideological motives”. The police source also called Anderson as a suspect.
The police spokesman refused to comment on the name of the suspect.
At least 11 people were killed, and several more wounded in the attack at the Risberg Adult Education Center in Örebro, a city of more than 100,000 people, some 200 kilometers west of Stockholm, on Tuesday. Police discovered Andersson’s body at the scene.
Police believe the killer, who they said was not known before, was acting alone.
“We’ll get back to motives,” local local police chief Roberto Eid Forest said at a press conference earlier on Wednesday.
Five of the six wounded treated in the hospital – four women and two men – required surgery for wounds of firearms and remained in serious condition, regional authorities said.
The exact number of wounded in the attack did not confirm the police.
Some students were in the class, while others had lunch when the attacker started shooting around 12:30 on Tuesday.
“The guy next to me was shot in my shoulder. He was bleeding a lot. When I looked behind me, I saw three people on the floor. A student named Marwa told TV4 television.
“I took a scarf of my friend and tied him tightly around my shoulder so he wouldn’t bleed so much.”
Hellen Werme, 35, said nursing student that after hearing she had hid her shots under the bed to avoid the attacker.
“The teacher shouted to lock the door and get down to the floor,” said the mother of two children to Reuters. “I thought this was my last time, my last day. That shoots me today.”
Werme said she still failed to get in touch with five classmates who were in the second part of the school when the shooting occurred.
“I never want to go back there,” she said.
Many students in the Swedish school system are immigrants who seek qualifications to help them find a job in Nordic country while learning Sweden.
The Risberg Campus School has about 2,700 students, about 800 of whom are enrolled in Swedish immigrants, according to the information provided by the Local Administration.
It said that students, who differ from the age of 18 and 70, originate from different backgrounds and nationality.
‘We all have to gather’
The flags flew halfway through the mast in Örebro, as well as in the parliament and the royal palace in Stockholm.
King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia visited the school and attended a memorial service at St. Nicholas Church in Central Örebbro.
“It’s hard to make a grieving process,” King told reporters after white flowers laid in a memorial place with candles near the school. “I think the whole of Sweden has experienced this traumatic event.”
The royal couple was joined by Prime Minister Ulf Kristsson on a trip to Örebro.
“On February 4th, he will forever mark a dark day in Swedish history,” Kristersson said in a statement. “We are a country in mourning and we all have to gather.
“Together we have to help the injured and their relatives carry the sadness and weight of today.”
Candles and flowers were placed near a one -storey school on Haga Street, where police continued the investigation.
The morning after the attack, Örebro was still in shock because of the worst mass murder in Swedish history.
“In order to happen in Örebro, that was completely unexpected,” Mayor John Johansson told SVT TV. “I understand that children, our youth, are very afraid today. So I am.”
I am horrified by the tragic act of weapon violence at the school in Örebro, Sweden. My thoughts are with sacrifices, their loved ones and the whole community that faces unthinkable sadness.
Canada stands with Sweden during this painful time.
Police said they had not seen any general threat to schools or preschoolers in the country, or against adult education schools, including Swedish grades for immigrants.
Sweden has been struggling with a wave of shooting and bombing caused by the endemic problem of crime in gangs, which made the country of 10 million people in the European Union in recent years the highest weapon violence rate in the European Union.
However, fatal attacks on schools are rare.
Ten people were killed in seven incidents of deadly violence in schools between 2010 and 2022, according to the Swedish National Caucus Prevention Council.
