It was around 9pm on Saturday evening that the police stopped a vehicle in central Östersund. There were two men in the car who refused to stop and instead opened fire on the police, before pulling out on the E45 north, at high speed. The police gave chase and shot along the road at the car.
The dramatic car chase ended just a few hundred meters from Jenny’s house, where one of the men asked her for directions to the nearest bus stop.
– I go out here in the yard, to lock the car, and then a man comes. Not from the road but from the forest, from the edge of the forest down here, looking super lost. And stressed and sweaty, she says.
The first thing Jenny thought was that she wanted to contact the police.
– But of course I was super shaken and scared afterwards, when you got to see everything else.
The men arrested
Both men have now been arrested. One was arrested during the night along road 744, south of Lit, and the other during the morning along road 87, east of Östersund, where he got there on foot.
During the operation, all available police patrols, as well as police dogs, drones and helicopters participated. Regional and national task forces have also participated. The police are now working to investigate the incident.
– Right now we are doing a large number of interrogations and technical investigations. We are still looking in the terrain, not for people, but perhaps for objects that the people have left or dropped or something along the way, says August Knutsson, local police area manager
Several interesting finds
The police say they found several interesting things during the day. If it concerns weapons or, for example, drugs, they do not want to comment, but they continue to look.
– It can be everything from clothes to other things. Phones, and more. Things that we think they had when they left the car but that they didn’t have when they were found.
After questioning, both men have been arrested by prosecutors, who are now leading the investigation. The classification is attempted murder and aggravated weapons offences.
No injuries
No one was physically injured in the shooting, and the officers who were shot have been taken care of by the police’s own personnel.
– They are not physically injured and receive the support they need and will have that support in the future, says August Knutsson.
In connection with the shooting, the police patrol fired shots at the vehicle in question, something which, according to routine, will also be investigated by the police department for special investigations.