Sweden shooting latest: Five people shot at Orebro school as gunman armed with automatic weapon opens fire

Swedish authorities have confirmed five people have been taken to hospital after a shooting at a school for adults in Orebro’s Västhaga district shortly after 1pm local time.

Police have held a press conference in the last 30 minutes explaining details are yet to emerge about the victims as well as the motive of the gunman who carried out the attack.

While we will continue to bring you the latest developments, here’s what you need to know on the attack:

• Five people have been taken to hospital following a shooting at Risbergska School in Örebro.
• A teacher told how he heard up to 10 gunshots during the rampage while terrified students were trapped in classrooms as the shooting unfolded. One said he saw ‘a lot of blood’.
• Four people have undergone surgery and one of the victims is said to be in a serious condition. The gunman was also taken to hospital.
• Police say there are no details on the victims’ ages or whether they were students at the school for adult education – the motive of the shooter is also unknown at this time
• Officers are urging the public to stay away from the scene of the attack after earlier fears more attacks could take place. Six schools and a nearby restaurant were cordoned off as part of a major operation
• Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has described the attack as a ‘painful day for all of Sweden’ as he urged Swedes to follow police advice

Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has released a statement about the shooting in Orebro after five people were shot at a school earlier today.

It is with sadness that I have received information about the terrible act of violence in Örebro. My thoughts are with those who have been affected and their relatives. 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 one’s own life is a nightmare that no one should have to experience. The government is in close contact with the Police Authority and is closely following the development of events.

The operation is still ongoing and it is important that the public follows information from the police. My call is also to now give the police the peace of mind they need to investigate what happened and how these horrific crimes could have happened.

Police are urging the public to keep away from the scene of the Orebro school shooting, according to an update on its website.

In its most recent post, the force said:

We suspect one of the people in the hospital is the perpetrator. We are continuing to search the school and are focusing on security work – which we have done during the day as well. We housed students and staff at several schools because we did not really know the perpetrator or the perpetrators’ next steps and whether there were more attacks in the works. Now we no longer believe that and have begun an evacuation. However, we do not want the public or other people at the scene, the operation is still ongoing.

Swedish police spokesman Roberto Eid Forest (pictured) has said it cannot yet be confirmed if anyone has died as a result of the Orebro school shooting.

Mr Forest said he has no information about the ages of the victims or whether they were students. Speaking at a press conference, he said: ‘Nothing is clear yet.’

The shooter is believed to be a man.

Police in Sweden have confirmed the shooter is among those injured in Orebro.

Five people have been taken to hospital where four of them have undergone surgery.

Two victims are described as in a stable condition, one is seriously injured and the other has minor wounds.

At a press conference, officers said it was too early to comment on the motive of the perpetrator who Swedish media reported earlier had taken their own life.

Officers have cordoned off six schools and a nearby restaurant as part of a major operation with the public urged to stay away from the area.

Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet is reporting several people have been killed following the shooting at Risbergska School in Örebro.

Police are scheduled to hold a press conference at 3.30pm CEt (2:30pm UK time) with the latest information on the shooting.

Police in Sweden have been giving regular updates on the Orebro school shooting ahead of a press conference scheduled in 10 minutes time.

Here is the latest from the website:

• 13.20 : 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.
• 13.29: An information point will be set up where relatives and others who have questions can gather. People are again urged not to go to school or hospital. We will return to where the point will be located.
• 13.47: There has been a shooting at the school. Four people have been shot. The extent of the injuries is unclear. The operation is still ongoing. The charges are currently attempted murder, arson and aggravated weapons offense.
• 13.53: Students are being accommodated in schools adjacent to the affected area as well as in the school in question. This is done for security and safety reasons.
• 13.54: Five people are confirmed to have been shot.
• 14.12: The danger is not over. The public MUST continue to stay away from Västhaga.
• 14.31: No police officers have been shot in connection with the operation.

Note times are CET which is an hour later than GMT

Though school attacks in Sweden are rare, several serious incidents have taken place in recent years.

In March 2022, an 18-year-old student stabbed two teachers to death at a high school in the southern city of Malmo.

Two months earlier, a 16-year-old was arrested after wounding another student and a teacher with a knife at a school in the small town of Kristianstad.

In October 2015, three people were killed in a racially-motivated attack at a school in the western town of Trollhattan by a sword-wielding assailant later killed by police.

Here’s some of the first accounts from witnesses to the Orebro school shooting as police launch a major operation:

Lena Warenmark, a teacher at Risbergska, told national broadcaster SVT:

We heard gunshots very close to our study. There were probably ten shots.

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.

A person, who knows a teacher at the school says that he received a text message, said:

He wrote that there was automatic weapons being fired at the school and that they had taken cover in the staff room. Then he wrote that he loved me.

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.

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.

Swedish politicians are reacting on social media to the shooting at Risbergska School (pictured) in Orebro to send their thoughts to the victims.

Daniel Helldén, spokesperson for the Green Party, wrote on X:

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.

Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar said:

Shocked by the terrible news from Örebro. My heart goes out to those affected, to teachers, students and blue light personnel. The violence our country is going through is an abyss we must find our way out of together.

Theresa Carvalho, for the Social Democrats, added:

Following with horror what is happening in Örebro. Thinking of all those affected and worried about relatives.

Swedish police have confirmed no officers are among those injured during a shooting in Orebro.

Local media reports some police officers were shot at as they responded to the shooting earlier today.

At least five people have been shot, one of whom is believed to be the perpetrator who has killed themselves.

A huge police operation is under way in Sweden after shots were fired at Risbergska School in Orebro, some 200 km (125 miles) west of Stockholm.

Five people have been shot with the severity of injuries unknown at this stage.

Swedish media have reported the perpetrator shot themselves dead and that police officers are among those injured.

The shooting took place in a campus area where several schools, for both children and adults are located.

Police said students were held indoors at the affected school and also at nearby schools.

One witness said they ‘saw a lot of blood’ amid reports some were trapped in classrooms as the shooting took place.

Police are understood to be holding a press conference in the next hour.

Police in Sweden will reportedly hold a press conference in one hour following the Orebro school shooting.

We will bring you the latest developments on this story as and when we can.

Witnesses to the school shooting have told how they saw ‘a lot of blood’ following the school shooting in Orebro

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’.

Andreas Sundling, 28, who is in a classroom at the school, added the school is “full of police officers”

‘Now we are sitting here waiting to be evacuated from the school. The information we have received is that we should stay and wait,’ he added.

Swedish newspaper Expressen is reporting the shooter in Orebro has shot themselves with police declaring the situation is no longer ‘life-threatening’.

Police have not confirmed any fatalities at this time.

Five people have been injured after shots were fired earlier today.

Swedish police have confirmed five people were shot in an attack at a school in the city of Orebro, triggering a massive response by rescue services.

In a statement, a police spokesperson said:

Five persons are confirmed shot. This is currently seen as attempted murder, arson and aggravated weapons offence.

Ambulances, rescue services and police are onsite, a spokesperson for local rescue services said.

A police spokesperson declined to comment further when reached by Reuters.

Here are some pictures from Orebro where police have placed a school on lockdown following a shooting at a school.

Students are reportedly trapped inside the building as shots were fired with an automatic weapon.

Swedish newspaper Expressen is reporting five people have been shot in Orebro with automatic weapons.

The severity of the injuries is not known at this stage but police have previously indicated there is a danger to life.

Pictures taken from inside the school show pupils taking shelter under tables.

Here is our breaking news story on the MailOnline website as reports indicate a shooting has taken place at a school in the Swedish city of Orebro.

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as a major police operation gets under way in Sweden amid reports of a school shooting.

Shots were reported at Risbergska School in Örebro’s Västhaga district shortly after midday, with police spokesperson Lars Hedelin confirming to Expressen ‘there is a danger to life’.

Headteacher Mattias Molin said many children had been evacuated, but added: ‘I don’t know much more than that. We don’t know anything yet.’

Meanwhile, 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.

At least one person is believed to have been injured, with Expressen reporting the individual has been evacuated and taken to hospital.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest updates from this breaking news story.