Sweden investigates possible terrorist attack that leaves eight injured

Sweden has relived the most shocking moments of its recent history, as an attack in the small town of Vetlanda, in the south of the country, has once again rekindled the shadow of terrorism in the country. According to police reports, the attack took place at around 3 p.m. and left eight people injured, two of whom are in a serious condition.

The alleged assailant, a 20-year-old man known for petty crime, was shot and wounded by police during the arrest and later taken to hospital. The incident was initially classified as a possible homicide, but as the investigation unfolded it was upgraded to a suspected "terrorist attack".

Police received a report at around 15.00 local time of an incident in the centre of Vetlanda, a town of just over 13,000 inhabitants, involving a man who attacked eight people in five different areas of the small town, all within a few metres of each other. Although only 15 minutes had passed since the first call, the police were unable to prevent the attack. It is still under investigation whether the victims were chosen arbitrarily or whether there was a specific motive.

Little is known about the ongoing police investigation, except that the man was a resident of a nearby town, that he had a previous record of petty crime and that the hypothesis of collaboration with other people has been ruled out for the time being. There was no information on the weapon used, although Swedish media suggest that the man was carrying a knife.

For her part, the spokeswoman for the police in the eastern region of Vetlanda, Angelica Israelsson, said that "the motive is not yet clear" because the man "has not yet been questioned", as he is still hospitalised for a gunshot wound. However, the chief of police in the Jönköping area, Malena Grann, said during a telephone press conference that there were details that "make us investigate a possible terrorist motive, but I can not say what", adding that a collaboration has been opened with the Swedish intelligence service, the Säpo.
 

The terrorist threat level in Sweden is three out of five since the first terrorist attack in 2010. In December 2010, a jihadist of Iraqi origin carried out a suicide bombing in the country's capital, lightly injuring passers-by. A second attack took place in 2017. Five people were killed when a truck rammed into pedestrians on a busy shopping street in central Stockholm. 

If confirmed, this alleged terrorist attack would be the third such attack in the European country in the last eleven years. Swedish minister Stefan Löfvenm has recalled "how fragile our secure existence is" and condemned the attack as a "dreadful crime".