About 10 people, including the gunman, were killed on Tuesday at an adult education center in what Sweden’s prime minister called the country’s worst mass shooting. But a final death toll, a conclusive number of wounded and a motive hadn’t yet been determined hours later.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson gave a news conference in the aftermath of the tragedy, which happened on the outskirts of Orebro. The city is located about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Stockholm.
The school, called Campus Risbergska, serves students 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.
“Today, we have witnessed brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people,” Kristersson told reporters in Stockholm. “This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history. Many questions remain unanswered, and I cannot provide those answers either.
“But the time will come when we will know what happened, how it could occur, and what motives may have been behind it. Let us not speculate,” he said.
Gun violence at schools is very rare in Sweden. But there have been several incidents in recent years in which people were wounded or killed with other weapons such as knives or axes.