On February 4th, a 35-year-old man – identified as Rickard Andersson – entered an education centre for young adults and opened fire, killing 10 people before apparently turning the gun on himself.
Described as an unemployed recluse with psychological problems, he is thought to have acted alone in the massacre at Campus Risbergska in the town of Örebro, 200 kilometres west of Stockholm.
He had fired more than 50 shots, police said in a press release on Tuesday, confirming four guns had been seized by the police – three at the scene together with a lot of ammunition and one at the gunman's home.
The suspect had purchased both ammunition and smoke grenades shortly before the shooting.
The man had lived isolated in his apartment since 2016, "with little contact with other people", and it was still unclear how he had interacted with the digital world, police said.
He had been enrolled at the school twice, once in 2013 and again between 2019 and 2021.
A week after the massacre, police are still trying to establish a clear motive for the shooting, but it appeared the victims had been selected randomly.
"The victims are a mix of age, ethnicity and gender. They have worked as teachers or studied," police said.
Police have not disclosed the nationalities of the victims – seven women and three men aged 28 to 68 residing in Örebro.
However, based on interviews given to Swedish media by family members, we know at least two of the victims of the attack came from Syria, one came from Iran, one from Iraq, one from Somalia, one from Eritrea, one from Afghanistan, and one from Bosnia.
"They came from different parts of the world and had different dreams," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a speech on Sunday.
Kristersson urged people not to speculate on the attacker's motives, but stressed that he understood the concerns of "people of foreign origin who show a particular sense of vulnerability".
Syria's embassy in Stockholm has expressed condolences to two Syrian families, without giving details.
Bosnia's foreign ministry said one of its nationals was among the dead, while another had been wounded.
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