The Japan Times - Sweden mourns after school massacre

Candles were lit and flowers laid in front of the cordoned-off Campus Risbergska, a school for young adults in Orebro, as royals and residents alike flocked to pay their respects.

Police have yet to provide details about the gunman or his motives. But they confirmed that 11 people, "including the killer", died in Tuesday's shooting spree in the town west of Stockholm.

Swedish media have meanwhile begun to paint a picture of a suspected killer, as a 35-year-old local man who had been living as a recluse for many years and suffering from psychological problems.

"We are very shocked," King Carl XVI Gustaf told reporters, after he and Queen Silvia laid flowers near the school. "All of Sweden is mourning today."

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who also visited the site Wednesday, described the massacre as "the worst mass shooting in Swedish history".

The royal couple, Kristersson and several other government ministers later attended a memorial service at Orebro's Nikolai Church.

The 352-seat church was full when the service began with a sombre minute of silence before dignitaries and representatives from Muslim, Buddhists and other faith groups lit candles.

- Likely suicide -

Asked about reports that the gunman turned his gun on himself, Orebro police chief Roberto Eid Forest told reporters: "There is a lot to indicate that."

The suspect was dead when police reached him, he added.

Police were working to establish the reason for the killing spree, and had not seen an indication of an "ideological motive", he said.

The suspect was not previously known to police and regional police chief Lars Wiren told AFP the shooter was "obviously motivated and had access to firearms".

"When the first police officers entered the building shots were fired, likely at the police, but no one of our staff is injured."

Asked about the reports of the gunman's identity, Orebro police said they had identified the suspect but would "not publish his name yet, due to the investigation".

- Heavily armed -

The man had reportedly previously been enrolled at the school but had not attended classes there since 2021, according to the Aftonbladet daily.

At the time of the attack around midday local time (1100 GMT) Tuesday, he was carrying three rifles and a knife, the paper said. One was a hunting rifle and there were reports of another being a shotgun.

He reportedly hid his weapons in a guitar case and changed into military like garb in a bathroom, before the shooting began.

"He refrained from shooting some people and just walked past them," Aftonbladet said, citing an unnamed source with insight into the police investigation.

Police said not all the victims had been fully identified and have not disclosed any information about them.

Health authorities said six people were being treated at Orebro's university hospital.

Three women and two men had undergone surgery for gunshot wounds and were in a "stable but serious" condition.

A woman was treated for minor injuries, Orebro County authorities said, adding that all the wounded were over the age of 18.

- Shots and screams -

Messages of condolences poured in from around the world, including from Pope Francis, who told Kristersson in a message that he was "deeply saddened" by the shooting.

Students at the school described hearing shots and screaming.

"We looked at each other and we did not really understand what was happening," said Isabella Hatidou, 19.

"There was a lot of crying and panicking but we did our best to stay quiet."

"I saw some bodies lying on the ground. I don't know if they were dead or injured," added 16-year-old Linn, who goes to school near the site of the massacre.

"There was blood everywhere, people were panicking and crying ... it was chaos."

School attacks are rare in Sweden but the country has suffered shootings and bombings linked to gang violence that kill dozens of people each year.

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

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 who was killed by police.

S.Ogawa--JT