A mass shooting at an adult education centre in western Sweden’s Örebro city has left at least 10 people dead, police confirmed on Tuesday, describing it as one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history.

The shooting took place at Risbergska School at approximately 12:33pm local time (11:33 GMT). Initial reports indicated five people had been shot, but authorities later updated the toll, saying around 10 had been killed. The victims have yet to be formally identified.

"We know that 10 or so people have been killed here today. The reason that we can’t be more exact currently is that the extent of the incident is so large," local police chief Roberto Eid Forest told reporters.

A spokesperson for Örebro University Hospital stated that five people had been admitted with gunshot wounds. Of them, one sustained minor injuries, while four required surgery. Two patients were reported stable after surgery, while another remained in serious condition.

Gunman believed to be among dead

Police said they believed the shooter was among those killed and that the attack did not appear to have links to terrorism. However, investigators have classified the incident as “attempted murder, arson, and an aggravated weapons offence.”

Forest stated that the suspect had no prior criminal record and was unknown to authorities. “We believe the perpetrator acted alone,” he added.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic as gunfire erupted inside the school. Maria Pegado, a teacher at the institution, recalled the moment the attack unfolded.

"I took all my 15 students out into the hallway and we started running. Then I heard two shots but we made it out. We were close to the school entrance. I saw people dragging injured out, first one, then another. I realised it was very serious," she told reporters.

Another witness, Andreas Sundling, who was sheltering inside a classroom, told the Swedish newspaper Expressen: “We heard three bangs and loud screams. Now, we’re sitting here waiting to be evacuated from the school. The information we have received is that we should sit and wait.”

Condemnation and shock

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson expressed condolences to the victims’ families, calling the attack “the worst mass shooting in Swedish history.”

"My thoughts are with those who have been affected and their relatives," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Being confined to a classroom with fear for your own life is a nightmare that no one should have to experience."

King Carl XVI Gustaf also reacted with "sadness and dismay," extending condolences to the families of the deceased.

The shooting took place on the outskirts of Örebro, approximately 200 kilometres west of Stockholm. Sweden has been grappling with a surge in gang-related shootings and bombings, though fatal attacks at schools remain uncommon.

Between 2010 and 2022, 10 people were killed in seven separate school-related attacks, according to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.

Despite the rarity of such incidents, Sweden has witnessed a few violent school attacks in recent years. In March 2022, a student fatally stabbed two teachers in Malmö. In 2015, a racially motivated attack in Trollhättan saw three people killed by a sword-wielding assailant.