Sweden’s Deadliest Mass Shooting: Immigrant Community Fearful After Ten Gunned Down in Adult Education School
Ten people were killed in what is now Sweden’s worst mass shooting in history (Wikimedia Commons).
The worst mass shooting in Sweden’s history, claiming the lives of ten people at Risbergska adult education center in Örebro, occurred on Tuesday, February 4.
The Swedish media named 35-year-old Rickard Andersson, a local Swedish man, as the alleged shooter. A total of 11 people, including the body of Andersson, were discovered at the scene of the shooting. Among the dead were seven women and three men between the ages of 28 and 68, with an additional five people seriously injured. Andersson was previously enrolled as a student at the school until 2021 but did not finish any of his courses. Swedish police believe that Andersson acted alone in the shooting and that, as of February 5, terrorism was not a suspected motive, yet there is still an active investigation occurring. The Swedish media describe Andersson as an “unemployed recluse” who possessed a license for a hunting rifle and had limited contact with his family.
Officials from the local and national governments have reacted to the shooting, including those outside of Sweden. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters in Stockholm on February 4 that, “Today, we have witnessed brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people.” Prime Minister Kristersson, along with King Carl XVI and Queen Silvia, came to the scene of the shooting to lay flowers. Additionally, Prime Minister Kristersson delivered a televised speech on February 9 calling for a one-minute silence for mourning and spoke of the lives of the victims, saying, “they were in school to lay the foundation for the future that has now been taken away from them.” Leaders of the European Union (EU) also offered their condolences, with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen posting on X, “In this dark hour, we stand with the people of Sweden.”
The immigrant community of Örebro has been devastated by Tuesday’s attack. Risbergska offers a range of primary and secondary educational classes for adults, including Swedish-language classes for immigrants, career training, and programs for those with disabilities. Among the dead were Syrian, Bosnian, Ethiopian, and Kurdish immigrants and refugees, with authorities in the respective countries confirming the reports. The first victim of the shooting to be identified was Salim Iskef, a 28-year-old Syrian refugee who had called his mother and fiancee during the shooting after being shot to tell them that he loved them. Bassam Al Sheleh, a 48-year-old father of two, had also been killed in the shooting on the same day that he had wished everyone a good day on social media. People in the Middle Eastern immigrant community of Örebro conveyed their fear about the shooting, especially following the publishing of unconfirmed videos on social media recording an unknown person expressing anti-immigrant sentiment during the attack.
According to Swedish authorities, Andersson had licenses for four firearms, of which only three were found next to his body at the scene, and one appeared to be a rifle. Unused ammunition and ten empty magazines were found near Andersson’s body. Sweden’s population of 10.5 million people currently has 660,000 registered gun owners, with a total of 2 million firearms and weapons parts in the country. There are multiple restrictions and regulations on gun ownership in Sweden, with permits and specifically approved storage cabinets required for ownership. After the shooting, the ruling center-right coalition announced on February 7 that they would increase vetting of the purchasing of guns, as well as seek to ban certain styles of firearms. On a visit to Latvia, Prime Minister Kristersson said that the Swedish government must “ensure that only the right people have guns.” New gun control measures have been proposed.
A newly introduced proposal would seek to limit access to semi-automatic firearms like the AR-15 and bolster testing of suitability for those who wish to secure a gun license, including a reporting system for those who are unfit to possess firearms.