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The full -screen police technician at the Risbergska school in Örebro after Tuesday’s school shooting. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT
The suspected mass murderer in Örebro had a license for four weapons.
The question is now raised how he was deemed appropriate to obtain a weapons license.
With one or more rifles, the school shooter in Örebro, according to information to several media, is suspected of a 35-year-old man, having killed ten people. In total, he had a license for four weapons, according to police, and next to him inside the school was found three.
Serious acts of violence with legal weapons have been done before.
For example, Peter Mangs was convicted of two murders and eight attempted murder in Malmö between 2003 and 2010 with firearms for which he had permission.
The terrorist act at Norwegian Utöya 2011 and the school massacre in Jokela school in Finland in 2007 were also committed with weapons that the perpetrators held legally.
Checks suitability
The police may only grant permission to hold firearms if it can reasonably be assumed that the weapon will not be abused and that the applicant has acceptable need for the weapon. An acceptable purpose is usually that you have a hunter’s degree or are a member of a sports shooting association.
In order to reduce the risk of the weapon being abused, the police control the applicant’s suitability. Crime, even in the social circle, and abuse are two circumstances that are taken into account.
However, the perpetrator in Örebro was unknown to the police.
Weapons license can also be denied or revoked for medical reasons. Doctors are obliged to report to the police if they meet a patient who is unsuitable to hold weapons for medical reasons, for example due to mental illness.
Between 2019 and 2022, doctors reported on average just over 2,000 people as inappropriate gun holders per year, according to a survey SVT conducted autumn 2023.
Contact with the care?
A relative has testified that the man did not feel good mentally. He is described by former classmates as “extremely odd” and socially isolated.
According to Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer (M), the police investigate if the man had been in contact with the care.
– At present, there are some things about the perpetrator, that the person in question seems to have had contacts with the health care, that the person in question had a license, permission to hold weapons, says Strömmer.
He says there are questions that the police try to get to the bottom with and add that the rules for when you have weapons are “very clear”.
– A question that is of course discussed, whether it would turn out that this person had contacts with the healthcare system and suffers from mental illness, then you can say that the legislation is very clear that if you have that kind of problem, you should not get permission .
Does the gun legislation need to be reviewed?
– I don’t exclude anything in this situation.
Fact wallpapers in Sweden
At the beginning of 2024, there were more than 660,000 registered gun holders who together had more than 2 million firearms, objects that are equated with firearms and the weapons of permits.
Of these, more than 1.6 million are held for hunting. The second largest category is weapons for target shooting (about 176,000 weapons).
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