Sweden tightens gun laws after school shooting

Sweden tightens gun laws after school shooting

Sweden's right-wing government said Friday it plans to tighten gun laws after the country faced its deadliest shooting spree. This occurred at an adult education center where the perpetrator apparently used several of his own licensed rifles.

Details about the incident

On Tuesday, ten people were shot dead at the Campus Risbergska school in Örebro before the suspected perpetrator - identified by a Reuters source and Swedish media as Rickard Andersson, a 35-year-old Swedish hermit - took his own life.

Police confirmed Friday that the suspected shooter was a 35-year-old man and said identification of all victims had been completed, but did not release names.

The victims included seven women and four men aged 28 to 68, including the suspect, police said in a statement.

Victims and backgrounds

The victims included several Christians who had fled persecution in Syria. The police said that so far there were no signs of an ideological motive.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the event had caused fear and a feeling of vulnerability among many people with a migrant background in Sweden. He called on us to “unite and stand behind everything that is important to us together”.

Government reaction

The government has agreed with its far-right supporters in parliament to tighten the vetting process for people applying for gun licenses and to restrict some semi-automatic weapons. Particular attention is paid to the AR-15, an assault rifle based on a military design that has been used in many shootings in the United States. Law and Order Minister Gunnar Strommer told Reuters: "Given the terrible incident in Örebro, we believe that the right thing to do is to withdraw the regulations and ban this type of weapon."

He added that it was still unclear what weapons were used in the Örebro incident and that the ban on AR-15 weapons was a “preventative measure.”

Current developments and future prospects

AR-15 rifles have been legal for hunting since 2023, and Strommer reported that about 3,500 of the rifles have been licensed since then. Sweden's largest opposition party, the Social Democrats, welcomed the move but called for more comprehensive audits and controls. “There is a before and after of February 4th,” said Social Democratic MP Theresa Carvalho at a press conference.

Police have not yet specified what type of weapons were used in the attack, only that three rifles belonging to the alleged perpetrator were found near him. Local media reported that he had a hunting license.

School safety and gun ownership in Sweden

The incident has also raised questions about safety in Swedish schools. Unlike many other countries, schools are generally viewed as semi-public spaces and rarely have controls over who can come and go. The government is examining ways to speed up legislation that would make it easier for schools to install surveillance cameras, Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said in a statement to Swedish media on Thursday.

Sweden has a high gun ownership rate by European standards, but it is significantly lower than in the United States. Most guns are kept legally for hunting, but a wave of gang violence has highlighted the high number of illegal handguns.

Gun ownership statistics

According to 2017 figures from the Small Arms Survey, a Switzerland-based research institute, there were about 2.3 million civilian firearms in Sweden. That equates to around 23 guns per 100 people, compared to 120 in the US and 4.6 in the UK.

The frightening events have plunged Sweden into mourning and police continue to work to determine a motive. It is also being investigated whether the perpetrator was a student at this school at some point.