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At least 11 people are dead and many wounded in the worst mass shooting in Sweden's history. Teri Schultz reports a motive for the gunman's attack on an adult education facility is still not known.
TERI SCHULTZ, BYLINE: Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson spoke to the country in a late evening press conference, visibly shaken by the tragedy that had unfolded just after midday in Orebro, about two hours west of the capital, Stockholm.
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PRIME MINISTER ULF KRISTERSSON: (Through interpreter) It is difficult to grasp the magnitude of what has happened today, the darkness that is now settling over Sweden tonight.
SCHULTZ: Teachers and students describe running for their lives when the gunshots rang out and seeing others who didn't make it. Some students at the school reportedly stayed on the scene for at least a couple of hours before being evacuated by police, who told them to close their eyes as they walked out. Although this Nordic country has one of the highest rates of gun violence in the European Union, school shootings are rare, and the unprecedented number of victims has shocked Swedes. Here's Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer.
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GUNNAR STROMMER: (Through interpreter) It's something you read about with horror happening in other countries, but we think that doesn't happen in Sweden.
SCHULTZ: Strommer said the gunman was among the casualties, but beyond this, authorities had little information initially about the man's possible motive and why he targeted the Risbergska school, which teaches adults studying for high school diplomas. Swedish media say he was a 35-year-old local resident who had a license for a hunting rifle. Police raided the suspect's home and said, for now, they believe he acted alone, had no terrorist motive and was not part of gang violence that's racked Sweden in recent years. Other schools in the city will remain open Wednesday as authorities seek to maintain as much normalcy as possible.
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ROBERTO EID FOREST: (Speaking Swedish).
SCHULTZ: "We will be out there," Orebro police chief Roberto Eid Forest told reporters. "We will show up and try to create as much security as we can." But the police chief said he understands there's a lot of fear in this community right now.
For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Orebro, Sweden.
(SOUNDBITE OF OSI AND THE JUPITER'S "FJORGYN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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