At least ten people have been confirmed dead and an unknown number injured after a gunman entered an educational centre in Örebro, a town of 130,000 inhabitants west of Stockholm (Sweden).

Police have not yet discovered the motives of the attacker, a man carrying a fire gun. The school was attended mostly by adults seeking to complete secondary education. The premises are part of a larger educational campus on the outskirts of the city. Sources said there were exams that day.

The police reported that the attacker was among the dead and have searched his home for motives or accomplices in the attack although no further relevant information was shared.

According to local media, witnesses heard many gunshots at midday and saw students and teachers injured or sheltering in classrooms.

“It is difficult to take in the extent of what has happened today”, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said a few hours later. “Darkness is being cast over Sweden tonight”, he continued, condemning the “brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people (...) What must not happen has now also happened in Sweden”.

“Appalled by the horror of what has happened”

Evangelical Focus contacted a leader of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance who was shocked to learn that the attack took place in a place where he had studied in the past. “This is the worst mass shooting in a country where we have very strict gun laws”, says Jacob Rudenstrand.

“It feels surreal that the place where I studied for three years, sat in classrooms, walked in corridors, spent time with classmates, celebrated my graduation, was subjected to such a terrible act”, he explained. 

“I am appalled by the horror of what has happened, not least that so many people have been killed - never to return home to their families”.

På mitt gamla gymnasium. Jesus förbarma dig över de drabbade. Kyrie eleison https://t.co/SiqRFLJFav

— Jacob Rudenstrand (@JRudenstrand) February 4, 2025

Churches open for spiritual support

Rudenstrand, who is deputy general secretary of the Evangelical Alliance, explained that “Örebro is a church-dense city”, and that it is encouraging to see that “many churches have opened for counseling and prayer. This is our task as the Body of Christ: to weep with, mourn with, and comfort those who suffer”.

“My prayer is that both those who were wounded and those who have lost loved ones will find comfort and strength during this difficult time”, he added. “That Jesus will make his presence felt to those who are grieving, especially those who have lost family members”. 

Asked what the attacker’s motives might be, Jacob Rudenstrand remarked that police have found no evidence of an ideological motivation for the attack so far. But “even if an investigation may provide some answers, many questions will not be satisfied”, he said.

In a time in which Sweden has “experienced a sharp increase in bombings in recent years, mainly related to conflicts between warring criminal gangs, this will leave a mark for a long time. Now is a time for mourning”.