Sweden - February 2025
Gunman kills 10 people at adult education centre
On 4 February, 10 people were killed at an adult education centre in Örebro, west of Stockholm, in what Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson described as the worst mass shooting in Swedish history. An additional five people were hospitalised with gunshot wounds. Police opened an investigation into charges of murder, an aggravated weapons offence, and arson - due to the attacker’s use of smoke grenades. The centre offers Swedish language classes for immigrants, vocational training, as well as programmes for people with disabilities. The suspect, Rickard Andersson, a former student, died by suicide at the scene. As authorities investigate the motive, the attack sparked safety concerns among Örebro’s immigrant communities after it emerged that the victims were of various nationalities, including Syrian, Bosnian, Eritrean, Iranian and Kurdish backgrounds. Media reports and embassies criticised authorities for being slow to release information, contributing to uncertainty and unease within these communities.
