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Sweden School Attack, Treated as a Hate Crime, Prompts Soul-Searching Sweden School Attack, Treated as a Hate Crime, Prompts Soul-Searching
(about 2 hours later)
LONDON — When a 21-year-old man, dressed in a black mask and a cape, and carrying a sword like a “Star Wars” character, entered a school in southwest Sweden on Thursday morning, the police said, students thought he was a Halloween prankster. Two pupils even posed with him for a photograph.LONDON — When a 21-year-old man, dressed in a black mask and a cape, and carrying a sword like a “Star Wars” character, entered a school in southwest Sweden on Thursday morning, the police said, students thought he was a Halloween prankster. Two pupils even posed with him for a photograph.
But there was nothing innocent about the man’s intentions. When a teacher asked what he was doing, the intruder stabbed him with the sword.But there was nothing innocent about the man’s intentions. When a teacher asked what he was doing, the intruder stabbed him with the sword.
The man continued his rampage through the school in the small industrial city of Trollhattan, the police said, and appeared to choose his victims among people with immigrant backgrounds. News accounts said he killed a 20-year-old male teacher and a 17-year-old pupil from Somalia, and wounded two others — a teacher in her early 40s and a 15-year-old student from Syria — before he was shot and killed by the police. The man — whom the police identified on Friday as Anton Lundin Pettersson — continued his rampage through the school in the small industrial city of Trollhattan, and appeared to choose his victims among people with immigrant backgrounds. News accounts said he killed a 20-year-old male teacher and a 17-year-old pupil from Somalia, and wounded two others — a teacher in her early 40s and a 15-year-old student from Syria — before he was fatally shot by the police. During the attack, according to Swedish news reports, he shouted, “I am your father” — a line from Darth Vader in one of the “Star Wars” movies. Witnesses told reporters that he played creepy music during the attack.
On Friday, details about the suspect, who had no previous criminal record and has not been identified by the authorities, began to emerge, and officials said that they were treating the attack as a hate crime. On Friday, details about the suspect, who was from Trollhattan and did not have a criminal record, began to emerge, and officials said that they were treating the attack as a hate crime.
Stefan Gustafsson, a spokesman for the regional police, said that the nature of the attack, and evidence found in the suspect’s apartment, suggested that he was a right-wing extremist. The police said they had found a note in Mr. Pettersson’s apartment that showed that the attack was racially motivated, but they declined to elaborate on its contents. Stefan Gustafsson, a police spokesman, said the authorities had confiscated the attacker’s car, parked close to the school, and had found a sword scabbard in it.
“We can see that he had clothes related to right-wing groups, and we found some other things that pointed in that direction,” Mr. Gustafsson said. “It is too early to talk of a precise motive. The path to his becoming a killer is a long journey.” “We can see that he had clothes related to right-wing groups, and we found some other things that pointed in that direction,” Mr. Gustafsson said in a phone interview. “It is too early to talk of a precise motive. The path to his becoming a killer is a long journey.”
The attack occurred as Sweden, like Germany and other European countries, has struggled to accommodate a wave of people fleeing conflict and deprivation. The killings occurred on the same day that the Swedish Migration Agency forecast that as many as 190,000 refugees would stream into the country this year — more than double previous forecasts.The attack occurred as Sweden, like Germany and other European countries, has struggled to accommodate a wave of people fleeing conflict and deprivation. The killings occurred on the same day that the Swedish Migration Agency forecast that as many as 190,000 refugees would stream into the country this year — more than double previous forecasts.
After the attack, the interior minister, Anders Ygeman, urged Sweden to “mobilize all good forces against this racist violence” and defended the country’s legacy of openness to newcomers.After the attack, the interior minister, Anders Ygeman, urged Sweden to “mobilize all good forces against this racist violence” and defended the country’s legacy of openness to newcomers.
While the police said they were investigating whether the episode was a so-called lone-wolf attack or could have been connected to an extremist group, the attack spurred soul-searching. Sweden prides itself on its openness, generous welfare benefits and social cohesion, and violent crime remains relatively rare, especially in schools.While the police said they were investigating whether the episode was a so-called lone-wolf attack or could have been connected to an extremist group, the attack spurred soul-searching. Sweden prides itself on its openness, generous welfare benefits and social cohesion, and violent crime remains relatively rare, especially in schools.
David Brax, a researcher at the University of Gothenburg who studies hate crimes, said that since a school shooting in 1961 in Kungalv that killed one person and wounded six, he was not aware of another shooting at a Swedish school.David Brax, a researcher at the University of Gothenburg who studies hate crimes, said that since a school shooting in 1961 in Kungalv that killed one person and wounded six, he was not aware of another shooting at a Swedish school.
Swedes were left asking themselves how such a crime could have happened. The country is divided, Dr. Brax said, between those who see the attack as a terrorist or hate crime, and those who see it as the act of a single troubled man.Swedes were left asking themselves how such a crime could have happened. The country is divided, Dr. Brax said, between those who see the attack as a terrorist or hate crime, and those who see it as the act of a single troubled man.
“The nation is in shock, and there is a lot of polarization,” he said.“The nation is in shock, and there is a lot of polarization,” he said.
Tensions were fanned over the summer when a woman and her adult son were fatally stabbed at an Ikea store in Vasteras, Sweden, and an Eritrean whose asylum request had been denied was charged with the crime. Fears of retaliation against immigrants followed.Tensions were fanned over the summer when a woman and her adult son were fatally stabbed at an Ikea store in Vasteras, Sweden, and an Eritrean whose asylum request had been denied was charged with the crime. Fears of retaliation against immigrants followed.
Several refugee centers in the country have been set on fire in recent weeks, driving fears of an anti-immigrant backlash.Several refugee centers in the country have been set on fire in recent weeks, driving fears of an anti-immigrant backlash.
The far right in Sweden, as in much of Europe, has been gaining strength recently, in part, analysts say, because of fears about immigration. Sweden Democrats, a far right anti-immigrant party, drew almost 13 percent of the vote in a general election in September 2014, helping it become a potent political force in the country. But the center-left minority government and the opposition have both been extremely wary of joining forces with the party.The far right in Sweden, as in much of Europe, has been gaining strength recently, in part, analysts say, because of fears about immigration. Sweden Democrats, a far right anti-immigrant party, drew almost 13 percent of the vote in a general election in September 2014, helping it become a potent political force in the country. But the center-left minority government and the opposition have both been extremely wary of joining forces with the party.
Dr. Brax said the attack came at a time of simmering resentment in some quarters against refugees and the strains they can place on the country.Dr. Brax said the attack came at a time of simmering resentment in some quarters against refugees and the strains they can place on the country.
“The arrival of large numbers of refugees has created a reaction in some places of ‘not in my backyard,’ ” he said. “While the far right has described immigrants as a cost to society, who can’t be integrated.”“The arrival of large numbers of refugees has created a reaction in some places of ‘not in my backyard,’ ” he said. “While the far right has described immigrants as a cost to society, who can’t be integrated.”
For some in Sweden, Mr. Pettersson’s apparent targeting of immigrants brought back memories of another attacker, John Ausonius, nicknamed the “Laser Man,” who shot 11 people from immigrant backgrounds between August 1991 and January 1992 in Stockholm and elsewhere. One man died. In some of the attacks, which traumatized the country, Mr. Ausonius used a rifle equipped with a laser sight.