Footage has emerged of the terrifying moment Swedish students were sent scrambling for their lives as a gunman opened fire at a school in the city of Örebro this afternoon.
At least five people were shot at Risbergska School in Örebro’s Västhaga district, with the shooter – a 35-year-old man, believed to have turned the gun on himself – though police are yet to confirm this.
Some Swedish outlets and national broadcaster SVT initially reported there were multiple fatalities, but others claimed all five gunshot victims were wounded but had not been killed.
Aftonbladet and Expressen reported that Örebro’s University Hospital received five shooting victims, four of which underwent surgery. Two are said to have been stabilised, while one escaped with minor injuries.
‘One of the injured persons is a person whom we suspect may be the assailant,’ Orebro police chief Roberto Eid Forest told a press conference. He said police were not yet aware of a motive.
A team of armed cops conducted a raid on the suspect’s house around 4:30pm local time and explosions were reported at the property.
Police refused to provide details of the raid to Swedish press, but TV4 claimed the shooter had no previous convictions and possessed a firearms license.
A clip shared on Snapchat by one horrified student moments after the incident shows a crowd sprinting away from the location of the shots.
‘There’s a shooting, oh my God!’ one student is heard screaming as the shots ring out. Another video circulating social media showed armed police brandishing their weapons as they surrounded the school.
A body can be seen lying immobile on the pavement just outside one building. It is unclear whether this was the shooter or a victim.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said: ‘It is a very painful day for all of Sweden. My thoughts are also with all those whose normal school day was exchanged for terror. Being confined to a classroom with fear for your own life is a nightmare that no one should have to experience.’
Emergency personnel gather after a shooting at Risbergska School in Orebro, Sweden, 04 February 2025. According to police, five people were shot at the schoo
A clip shared on Snapchat by one horrified student shows a crowd sprinting away from the location of the shots
An image believed to have been taken inside the school and published by Swedish press showed a person lying on the floor of a classroom beside overturned chairs
Emergency services at the scene of an incident at Risbergska School
Police special forces are seen leaving the scene of the Risbergska School in Orebro, Sweden
Shots were reported at Risbergska School, an adult education establishment in Örebro’s Västhaga district, shortly after 12:30pm local time.
The violence broke out after many students had gone home following a national exam.
An image taken inside the school and published by Swedish press showed students cowering in their classrooms, barricading the doors with chairs and desks as alarms blared. Police vehicles and ambulances blanketed the car parks and streets around the school as a helicopter buzzed overhead in shocking scenes broadcast on Swedish television.
Lena Warenmark, a teacher at Risbergska, told SVT: ‘We heard gunshots very close to our study. There were probably ten shots.’
Dozens of police cars and ambulances descended on Västhaga as police locked down the school, establishing a perimeter around the building. Armed officers were seen approaching the school with weapons drawn.
Witness Magnus Håkansson told Expressen: ‘I heard bangs and then I came out quite early after that. The police ordered me to lie down at the scene. I saw a lot of blood.’
A horrified parent of one of the students added: ‘I am shaken and easily moved to tears now, but my daughter writes to me that she is praying to God that everything will be okay.’
Andreas Sundling, 28, was among those forced to barricade themselves inside the school.
‘We heard three bangs and loud screams,’ he told Expressen newspaper while sheltering in a classroom.
‘Now we’re sitting here waiting to be evacuated from the school. The information we have received is that we should sit and wait.’
Armed police are seen taking positions around the school. A body is seen lying outside a building
A major police operation is underway at Risbergska School in Örebro, Sweden, on February 4, 2025
Police special forces are seen leaving the scene of the Risbergska School in Orebro
Police in the city located 200km west of Stockholm issued a statement in the wake of the shooting warning the public to avoid the area as they searched for the attacker.
‘The public is urged to stay away from the Västhaga area, alternatively stay indoors in their homes or go the other way.
‘Listen to the police officers at the scene. The operation concerns threats of deadly violence. The operation is still ongoing,’ their statement said.
A spokesperson said officers were investigating ‘attempted murder, arson and an aggravated weapons offence’.
Risbergska School serves students who are over age 20, according to its website.
Primary and upper secondary school courses are offered, as well as Swedish classes for immigrants, vocational training and programs for people with intellectual disabilities.
It is surrounded by several other schools and education establishments.
Police cars and ambulances are seen surrounding the school in Örebro
A police helicopter flies as a major police operation is underway at Risbergska School, following reports of a serious violent crime, in Orebro, Sweden, February 4, 2025
A view shows a police car as a major police operation is underway at Risbergska School, following reports of a serious violent crime, in Orebro, Sweden, on February 4, 2025
Åke Johansson, principal of the nearby Karolinska High School, said staff and students are sheltering in place.
‘We try to avoid staying downstairs and away from glass and visibility, and that’s how it looks at most schools in Örebro now. We have many students who are worried and thoughtful about what’s happening.’
Åsa Svennebäck, health and medical communications officer in the Örebro region, confirmed to Expressen that patients are now being moved to make room at the University Hospital.
‘We are receiving injured people in the emergency room. I can’t say anything about how many or the condition of the injured. We are still trying to get a picture,’ she said.
Sweden’s Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer told public broadcaster SVT: ‘The information about violent acts in Örebro is very serious. The police are on site and the operation is in full swing.
‘The government is in close contact with the police and is following the developments closely.’
An image believed to have been taken inside the school and published by Swedish press showed a person lying on the floor of a classroom beside overturned chairs
Shots were reported at Risbergska School in Örebro’s Västhaga district
Roberto Eid Forest, head of the local police district, gives a press conference after a shooting at Risbergska School in Orebro, Sweden, 04 February 2025
A suspected school shooting has taken place in the Swedish city of Örebro with reports of automatic weapons fire as a major police operation was launched
The shooting prompted an outpouring of support from leading political figures in Sweden.
Green Party spokesman Daniel Helldén said: ‘Terrible what we are being told from Örebro. My thoughts go out to everyone who is affected: students, staff, relatives. It is unacceptable that this is happening and that the violence is spreading more and more.’
Social Democrat Teresa Carvalho added that she is ‘following with horror what is happening in Örebro’.
‘Thinking of all those affected and worried about their relatives,’ she wrote on X.
Liberal Party leader Johan Pehrson wrote that it was a ‘black day’ for Örebro and Sweden.
‘Shooting at what was once my high school, Risbergska. My thoughts are with all those affected and their families. I urge everyone to follow the police’s instructions in this difficult time.’
Sweden has recently earned a reputation as the European Union‘s gun homicide capital.
In all of 2023, 53 people were killed in shootings across Sweden, which is home to around 10.5 million people. In 2022, that figure stood at 62 – and Stockholm’s per-capita murder rate was roughly 30 times that of London.
Experts say the violence has been driven by a number of factors: Turf wars between gangs, a growing drugs market, an influx of guns into the market, growing inequality, high level of immigration and also a failure of migrant integration into society.
Mafia groups abroad have called the country a ‘haven’ for their activities, while organised crime groups have infiltrated business sectors and found ways to smuggle military-grade weapons into the country.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow…
Source link
