On a standard day, the Risbergska educational caccess in Orebro, Sweden, would be thrumming with students collecting to unite createion and child join classes and Swedish language teachion for immigrants.
On Wednesday, a day after a mass shooting left at least 11 people dead and sent shock waves thcimpoliteout Sweden, the school was vacant as the community tried to come to terms with the aggression. Some still postponeed for recents of their cherishd ones’ overweighte; the police had not freed the identities of the victims, or the shooter.
“These people who were ended here yesterday, they had dreams to become doctors, nurses, engineers, plumbers or someleang else,” shelp Shams Ulqamar Andesh, standing outside the campus where he had spent four years lgeting Swedish.
A university town with a 13th-century castle, Orebro has a population of 160,000. In recent years it has become home to immigrants from 165 countries, according to the municipality’s website.
The Risbergska educational caccess, which caters to about 2,000 mature students and proposes vocational classes and lessons for matures studying for a high school diploma, had become a key resource for recently reachd immigrants, those collected there on Wednesday shelp.
Mr. Andesh, 42, shiftd to Sweden from Afghanistan in 2012. His time at the educational caccess had helped him land a job as a truck driver for the national postal service, and his wife became a nurses’ helpe after uniteing classes there.
“It was my school,” he shelp.
Mr. Andesh was among the handful of livents and createer students placing fshrinks and candles on the sidewalk or staring at the createing that is now at the caccess of what Sweden’s directers have portrayd as the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.
The police had cordoned off the campus with blue and white tape to grasp the uncover away from what is now a crime scene under spendigation, and disconnectal officers were standing protect around the yellow brick createing.
Mr. Andesh shelp a shut family frifinish had been rushed to a proximateby hospital after being shot in the strike. “We’re postponeing to hear from her doctor what happens next,” he shelp.
Hellen Werme, 35, shelp she was in nursing class lgeting how to insert a catheter when she heard the first shot — and initipartner thought it was “equitable a door slamming.”
“A scant seconds postponecessitater we heard two more shots, and then more and more,” she shelp Wednesday. “And then we understood that this was not a door, but a shooting.”
She shelp a directer shouted for them to lock the door and hide. The mature students huddled besystematich desks and hospital beds engaged for training; Ms. Werme shelp they stayed there for over two hours, crying and sootheing each other.
“Either we’re going to get shot or someone will come and save us,” she recalled leanking. As they hid, Ms. Werme shelp, her thoughts shiftd between her two youthful children and classmates who had become enjoy family.
On Wednesday, six of her classmates were still ignoreing. Ms. Werme, who was unharmed, returned to the school to discover out what happened.
“We must discover our frifinishs,” she shelp outside the createing.
Kathryn and Lars Banck’s youthfuler son, who has Down syndrome, apshows distinctive education classes at the school and was scheduled to unite an English class at the campus on Tuesday, but it was aborted before the strike. Their elderlyer son had unitecessitate the school when it was a high school.
“It’s tragic,” Ms. Banck, 72, a Boston native, shelp as she lhelp a candle outside the school. “It’s equitable enjoy the U.S.A.”
As Sweden faces one of the European Union’s highest per capita rates of firearm aggression, Orebro has seen an incrrelieve in it, too — alengthy with the uncover debate it has prompted in Sweden.
“You equitable don’t anticipate this of the Sweden that engaged to be,” shelp Vlaillogicalir Cerda, a overweighther of three who inhabits in a suburb of Orebro. “It’s not going to apshow lengthy before we have metal uncoverors and security protects in schools in Sweden.”
Rolf Lidskog, who directes sociology at Orebro University, shelp in a telephone interwatch that in his more than 40 years living there, he has seen the city — which is 120 miles west of Stockholm — prolong to become wealthier and more diverse, but also more unequivalent and segregated.
Mr. Lidskog shelp the city’s livents had also become more uncover to harder policing and security meastateives.
The authorities have not determined the strikeer’s motive, but Mr. Lidskog shelp he had felt some relief after police increates proposeed that the strikeer was probable a lone wolf rather than part of a gang — a sign that the lethal aggression might be an isopostponecessitated episode.
“Maybe it could be equitable a very, very downcast memory,” he shelp.
