What We Know About the Mass Shooting in Sweden

Sweden was reeling and the authorities were searching for answers on Wednesday after what the government called the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.

The attack unfolded on Tuesday at an adult education center in the city of Orebro, west of Stockholm, the capital. The police said that at least 11 people were killed — with the suspect believed to be among the dead.

With Sweden in mourning, the authorities had yet to establish a motive or identify who was involved. Here’s a look at what we know.

What happened?

Gunfire erupted at about 12:30 p.m. at the Risbergska educational center, which offers classes to about 2,000 adults. Cellphone footage broadcast on local television showed students cowering under desks and chairs.

The authorities responded with a “major operation,” sending police cars and armed officers swarming onto the campus. Nearby schools were briefly put on lockdown.

Early reports said that at least five people had been shot. On Wednesday morning, the police said in a statement that 11 people had been killed and that “the person who the police believe is the suspect is among the deceased.”

At least six adults were wounded, the police added, saying that they were working to identify the victims and notify their families. The authorities also said that six officers had been treated for smoke inhalation after responding to the scene.

Who is the suspect?

The police have not identified the suspect or speculated about a motive. They said in their statement only that the suspect was “previously unknown to police.”

“We will return to the motive behind the shooting later,” they added.

The authorities initially said that “everything indicates that the perpetrator acted alone without an ideological motive.” But on Wednesday, they said they were still working to understand the circumstances and “whether more people are involved” — urging any witnesses to come forward.

“If you have videos, we want to see them,” Roberto Eid Forest, the head of the local police, said. “If you were there, we want to talk to you.”

Is gun ownership common in Sweden?

The attack sent shock waves through Sweden. Before Tuesday’s shooting, the country had experienced at least two school attacks in the last decade, but neither was carried out with a gun.

Sweden has long been known for low crime rates and high living standards, but statistics show that it has been grappling with one of the highest per capita rates of gun violence in the European Union.

Sweden has strict gun laws. Licenses require hefty application fees and are normally granted for hunters or members of sports shooting clubs, according said Sven Granath, a criminologist at Stockholm University.

“Legal guns, guns licensed to an owner, were seldom used in violent crimes in Sweden,” Mr. Granath said.

Still, gun violence has been on the rise, with 2022 seeing a record number of 391 episodes according to police figures. Mr. Granath said most of those crimes were linked to the drug trade and gangs, which control stockpiles of firearms smuggled in from postwar Balkan countries, Eastern Europe and Turkey. However, he said what happened on Tuesday was different.

The shooting in Orebro, he said, appeared to more closely resemble school shootings in the United States because police said it appeared that the perpetrator acted alone.

How is Sweden responding?

Families of the dead and wounded were gathering outside the educational center in Orebro, which remained shuttered and cordoned off with blue and white police tape on Wednesday. Police officers stood guard around the yellow-brick building as people placed flowers and candles outside the center, which offers classes to adults studying for a high school diploma.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who had ordered flags flown at half-staff in response to what he called a “horrific act of violence,” visited the makeshift memorial. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia, his wife, also came to lay flowers.

“We are very shocked,” the king said, according to Agence France-Presse.

Peter Larsson, the municipal director of Orebro, said the educational center would remain closed for at least the rest of the week.

“I’m devastated,” Mr. Larsson said. “It’s really, very heavy.”