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| Sweden to tighten gun laws in wake of Örebro mass shooting | Sweden to tighten gun laws in wake of Örebro mass shooting |
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| ‘We have to ensure that only the right people have guns in Sweden,’ says prime minister, Ulf Kristersson | ‘We have to ensure that only the right people have guns in Sweden,’ says prime minister, Ulf Kristersson |
| Sweden’s government has announced plans to strengthen its gun laws, including by restricting access to semi-automatic weapons, after the country’s worst mass shooting. | Sweden’s government has announced plans to strengthen its gun laws, including by restricting access to semi-automatic weapons, after the country’s worst mass shooting. |
| On Tuesday, a gunman killed 10 people at an education centre in Örebro, west of Stockholm. Police have not said what type of weapon he used but they have said he had a licence to own four weapons – three of which were found beside him. | On Tuesday, a gunman killed 10 people at an education centre in Örebro, west of Stockholm. Police have not said what type of weapon he used but they have said he had a licence to own four weapons – three of which were found beside him. |
| “The horrific act of violence in Örebro raises several key questions about gun legislation,” the centre-right coalition government, which relies on the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats, said. As well as tightening legislation, it also said it wanted to improve the way that people considered “medically unsuitable” for weapons possession were reported. | “The horrific act of violence in Örebro raises several key questions about gun legislation,” the centre-right coalition government, which relies on the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats, said. As well as tightening legislation, it also said it wanted to improve the way that people considered “medically unsuitable” for weapons possession were reported. |
| “We have to ensure that only the right people have guns in Sweden,” Ulf Kristersson, Sweden’s prime minister, said during a visit to Latvia. | “We have to ensure that only the right people have guns in Sweden,” Ulf Kristersson, Sweden’s prime minister, said during a visit to Latvia. |
| None of the victims or the perpetrator have yet been named by police, but they have said that they include “multiple nationalities, different genders and different ages”. The Guardian understands that the dead include a Syrian man, an Eritrean mother of four and an Iranian woman. Police are investigating whether the shooting was racially motivated. | |
| Swedish hunters, of which there are hundreds of thousands, have long been able to apply for licences for semi-automatic weapons. In August 2023, the Swedish environmental protection agency lifted a ban on military-style models, meaning guns such as the AR-15 were permitted for hunting. | Swedish hunters, of which there are hundreds of thousands, have long been able to apply for licences for semi-automatic weapons. In August 2023, the Swedish environmental protection agency lifted a ban on military-style models, meaning guns such as the AR-15 were permitted for hunting. |
| The government said on Friday it wanted to reimpose restrictions that existed before 2023 and develop a strategy to seize military-style weapons. “The AR-15 is an example of a weapon that is compatible with large magazines and can cause a lot of damage in a short time,” it said. | The government said on Friday it wanted to reimpose restrictions that existed before 2023 and develop a strategy to seize military-style weapons. “The AR-15 is an example of a weapon that is compatible with large magazines and can cause a lot of damage in a short time,” it said. |
| The government said a recent report had found that several of the requirements that should be taken into account when assessing a person’s suitability for a weapons permit were not clearly stated in weapons regulations, and that they should be set out in law. These include age, knowledge, skills, some medical factors and how law-abiding a person is. | The government said a recent report had found that several of the requirements that should be taken into account when assessing a person’s suitability for a weapons permit were not clearly stated in weapons regulations, and that they should be set out in law. These include age, knowledge, skills, some medical factors and how law-abiding a person is. |
| It also plans to add provisions on doctors’ reporting obligations when it comes to weapons and the police’s ability to revoke permits. | It also plans to add provisions on doctors’ reporting obligations when it comes to weapons and the police’s ability to revoke permits. |
| The main opposition party, the Social Democrats, said it welcomed the government’s announcement, but called for all weapons licences that have already been issued to be reviewed. It also said there should be a review of how registers between authorities were cross-checked. | The main opposition party, the Social Democrats, said it welcomed the government’s announcement, but called for all weapons licences that have already been issued to be reviewed. It also said there should be a review of how registers between authorities were cross-checked. |
| The Syrian embassy in Stockholm has said its citizens were among the dead. | |
| The suspect, who apparently killed himself, has been named in media reports as Rickard Andersson, 35, a former student of the school who lived locally. He is understood to have attended maths classes at the school a few years ago and had been unemployed for a decade. | |
| Among the victims was Salim Iskef, 28, who phoned his fiancee, Kareen Elia, 24, from the school and told her he had been shot. “He called me and said: “I’ve been shot, they shot us.’ He said he loves me and that’s the last thing I heard,” she said in an interview. | |
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| Members of their church said there was standing room only at a memorial service for Iskef on Thursday night. | Members of their church said there was standing room only at a memorial service for Iskef on Thursday night. |
| Fr Jacob Kasselia, a priest at St Maria Örebro, the Syrian Orthodox church that Iskef was a member of, said the community is reeling. “We have our doors open for everybody. You can see that everybody is affected. A dark cloud has come over us all. But despite that we say that we must look for the light,” he told the Guardian. | |
| In addition to Iskef, he knows of two more people who were killed in the shooting. One of them, he said, is a woman from Eritrea, who looked after her four children alone, and the other was a woman aged between around 45 and 50 from Iran. | |
| The number of non-Swedish victims will affect Örebro and the whole of Sweden, said Kasselia, who went to the remembrance service attended by the prime minister and the king and queen on Wednesday. “It is dark over us all.” | |
| The Bosnian Islamic Community in Örebro said that in light of recent events it had been advised to increase security and had hired security guards to keep watch outside the mosque. |