‘A Nightmare’: At Least 10 Dead In Shooting At Swedish School

Police said “around 10 people” were killed — including the suspected gunman — in a shooting at a school in central Sweden, marking the worst mass shooting in the nation’s history.

Officers were called around 12:30 p.m. local time to a campus in Örebro, where a lone gunman allegedly opened fire on dozens of people and then shot himself before coming into contact with authorities, according to a report by CNN.

“We think he is a lone perpetrator,” local police chief Roberto Eid Forest added. “It’s a terrible event, it’s exceptional – a nightmare.”

Forest was not able to provide an exact death toll due to the extensive damage at the crime scene, although he did note that six people were taken to the hospital, with two being in stable condition.

Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson offered condolences to the victims’ families, stating, “We’ve today seen brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people – this is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history.”

Police said the suspect was not previously known to them and did not appear to have extremist ties or gang affiliation.

Campus Risbergska, the adult education center where the attack occurred, usually sees high pedestrian traffic during the day. However, a teacher at the school noted that on the day of the shooting, many students had finished a national exam and gone home, leaving the building significantly less crowded.

Sweden’s Expressen newspaper interviewed Andreas Sundling, 28, who sheltered in a classroom during the shooting.

“We heard three bangs and loud screams … now we’re sitting here waiting to be evacuated from the school,” Sundling recounted, via The Associated Press.

The witness, who was sheltering in a classroom, added that students were told to lock down until law enforcement arrived to secure the area. Police later began evacuating schools adjacent to Campus Risbergska, moving faculty and students to safer locations as officers searched the premises.

Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf released a statement expressing that he and his family had received the news “with sadness and dismay,” extending condolences to the families of the victims and praying for a swift recovery of the hospitalized students.

While details surrounding the shooter’s motives remain under investigation, authorities have said there is no current indication of a wider plot.

In 2023, official data showed Sweden experiencing one of the highest rates of gun violence per capita in Europe, and in 2024, at least 40 people were reportedly fatally shot.