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Swedish Prime Minister: 'My thoughts are with those who were injured in Vetlanda'

The Local Sweden
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
Swedish Prime Minister: 'My thoughts are with those who were injured in Vetlanda'
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, pictured on another occasion. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

This is The Local's translation of Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven's statement, after several people were left injured in an attack in Vetlanda, southern Sweden, described by police as an act of suspected terrorism.

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Tonight, my thoughts are with those who were injured in Vetlanda and their loved ones. I condemn this horrific act of violence.

We will respond to these appalling actions with the collective force of society.

At the moment it is not clear exactly what happened and what the motive was, but police say that a lone perpetrator attacked and seriously injured several people in central Vetlanda.

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A suspected perpetrator has been arrested. In light of what has emerged so far in the police investigation, the prosecutor has launched an investigation into terror crimes. [Editor's note: The crime is currently classified as attempted murder but police said they were investigating possible terror motives, clarifying a previous statement that said the crime had been re-classified as suspected terrorism.]

The Police Authority and the Security Police work closely together in incidents such as this. They continuously assess whether there are reasons to step up safety measures and are prepared to do so if necessary.

The Police Authority is now taking measures to investigate and create safety, and has launched a special incident to better be able to handle the situation.

We are in ongoing contact with the Police Authority and the Security Police and are closely monitoring the events.

We are reminded of how fragile our secure existence is. I want to ask everyone to send their thoughts to those affected by the violence and to the men and women working in healthcare, police and in the municipality who are caring for the injured and re-establishing security.

Editor's note: Löfven's statement originally said the perpetrator had been carrying a knife, but police would not confirm this. The government subsequently updated the statement, removing the reference to the type of weapon used. The Local has updated the translation to reflect that. At the time of writing there was no official translation available of Löfven's comments. Here's a link to the statement in Swedish

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