Swedish Terrorize by Smashed Truck
Swedish Terrorize by Smashed Truck
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STOCKHOLM - A truck has smashed into a store in central Stockholm, killing at least three people.
Swedish police say, several people were also injured in the incident on Drottninggatan (Queen Street), one of the city's major pedestrian streets. The crash happened at the Ahlens department store just before 15:00 local time (13:00 GMT).
Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven said everything pointed to an act of terrorism.
Local media reported one arrest, but police have said no-one is being held. The police have also released a grainy image of a man, who was caught on CCTV and is deemed a person of interest in the case.
The truck was hijacked earlier on Friday, its owner said. Swedish brewery Spendrups said its truck had been stolen on its way to a restaurant delivery.
"Someone jumped into the driver's cabin and drove off with the vehicle while the driver was unloading," a brewery spokesperson told the TT news agency.
Witnesses say the lorry drove into the front window of the Ahlens store. One eyewitness told the BBC she was in the shop's fitting room when she heard the screams.
"There was blood everywhere," she said.
![Swedish Terrorize by Smashed Truck]()
The shop sits close to the city's central station, which was evacuated. The metro was also suspended after the attack.
"Everything indicates that this is a terrorist act. I was in Stockholm yesterday, ironically at a security conference. I don't think Sweden was prepared for something like this," Swedish PM, Stefan Lofven said.
The last big terror incident they had was in 2010 when a failed suicide bomber essentially blew himself up in a car in central Stockholm.
Insiders have been concerned for quite some time that Sweden has been a bit lax about security. The country has good intelligence-gathering apparatus: SAPO, their equivalent to the UK's MI5 agency, have got the finger on the problem, but the legislation is not there to deal with it.
Officials told nearby shoppers to stay inside buildings in the immediate vicinity while the area was secured, and the wider public were advised to keep away from the city centre.
Eyewitness Gustav Hokkanen spoke to the BBC while taking refuge in a nearby shop.
"We're being told to stay here," he said. "I'm about 25 metres from where the incident happened. Usually I work there. It's a total lockdown right now. It's madness at the moment. There are lots of police outside," he said.
Another shopper, Niklas Edren, was still in a locked-down building, one block away from Drottninggatan, three hours after the attack.
"There seems to be a feeling now that it is over, but there are still police everywhere," he said.
![Swedish Terrorize by Smashed Truck]()
The incident is just the latest in a string of deadly terror attacks that have occurred in Europe over the past year. Here's a look at some of the most recent terror attacks in Europe:
March 2017:
In London, a sole attacker killed five people, including a police officer, and injured at least 50 others in two apparent terror assaults near Britain's Parliament. Khalid Masood rammed his car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, before fatally stabbing the policeman outside Parliament.
Masood, who lived in the central city of Birmingham and spent the night before the attack in Brighton, southern England, was shot dead by police on March 22.
December 2016:
In Berlin, 12 people were killed and dozens injured after a truck attack on a popular street Christmas market. Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker suspected of carrying out the attack, was shot dead by Italian police four days after the attack on Dec. 19.
October 2016:
A 16-year-old boy was stabbed multiple times in Hamburg, Germany, by an assailant that was described as Middle Eastern. He later died from his injuries. ISIS took responsibility for the attack, though German officials could not confirm the authenticity of the claims at the time, Fox News reported.
July 2016:
Two men armed with knives killed an elderly priest and injured three others after seizing hostages at a Catholic church in Normandy, France. ISIS claimed responsibility. Both attackers were shot dead by French police as they attempted to leave the church.
July 2016:
In Nice, France, 86 people were killed after a large truck barreled into a thick crowd of revelers watching fireworks Bastille Day. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
June 2016:
In Istanbul, Turkey, 45 people were killed and approximately 240 wounded in an attack at the Ataturk International Airport.
June 2016:
A police officer and his partner were killed in a Paris suburb by Larossi Abballa, a man who was later killed by police. Abballa had pledged allegiance to ISIS.
March 2016:
In Brussels, Belgium, 32 people were killed and hundreds wounded in suicide bomb attacks. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the airport's departure hall during a peak travel period, and an hour later, a bomb was ignited in a train at a busy metro station, killing 16 more people. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.
March 2016:
In Istanbul, Turkey, five people, including two Americans, were killed in a suicide bombing. At least thirty-six people wounded, according to the health ministry.
January 2016:
In Istanbul, Turkey, 12 German tourists were killed and 15 wounded in a suicide bombing.
Swedish police say, several people were also injured in the incident on Drottninggatan (Queen Street), one of the city's major pedestrian streets. The crash happened at the Ahlens department store just before 15:00 local time (13:00 GMT).
Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven said everything pointed to an act of terrorism.
Local media reported one arrest, but police have said no-one is being held. The police have also released a grainy image of a man, who was caught on CCTV and is deemed a person of interest in the case.
The truck was hijacked earlier on Friday, its owner said. Swedish brewery Spendrups said its truck had been stolen on its way to a restaurant delivery.
"Someone jumped into the driver's cabin and drove off with the vehicle while the driver was unloading," a brewery spokesperson told the TT news agency.
Witnesses say the lorry drove into the front window of the Ahlens store. One eyewitness told the BBC she was in the shop's fitting room when she heard the screams.
"There was blood everywhere," she said.
The shop sits close to the city's central station, which was evacuated. The metro was also suspended after the attack.
"Everything indicates that this is a terrorist act. I was in Stockholm yesterday, ironically at a security conference. I don't think Sweden was prepared for something like this," Swedish PM, Stefan Lofven said.
The last big terror incident they had was in 2010 when a failed suicide bomber essentially blew himself up in a car in central Stockholm.
Insiders have been concerned for quite some time that Sweden has been a bit lax about security. The country has good intelligence-gathering apparatus: SAPO, their equivalent to the UK's MI5 agency, have got the finger on the problem, but the legislation is not there to deal with it.
Officials told nearby shoppers to stay inside buildings in the immediate vicinity while the area was secured, and the wider public were advised to keep away from the city centre.
Eyewitness Gustav Hokkanen spoke to the BBC while taking refuge in a nearby shop.
"We're being told to stay here," he said. "I'm about 25 metres from where the incident happened. Usually I work there. It's a total lockdown right now. It's madness at the moment. There are lots of police outside," he said.
Another shopper, Niklas Edren, was still in a locked-down building, one block away from Drottninggatan, three hours after the attack.
"There seems to be a feeling now that it is over, but there are still police everywhere," he said.
The incident is just the latest in a string of deadly terror attacks that have occurred in Europe over the past year. Here's a look at some of the most recent terror attacks in Europe:
March 2017:
In London, a sole attacker killed five people, including a police officer, and injured at least 50 others in two apparent terror assaults near Britain's Parliament. Khalid Masood rammed his car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, before fatally stabbing the policeman outside Parliament.
Masood, who lived in the central city of Birmingham and spent the night before the attack in Brighton, southern England, was shot dead by police on March 22.
December 2016:
In Berlin, 12 people were killed and dozens injured after a truck attack on a popular street Christmas market. Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker suspected of carrying out the attack, was shot dead by Italian police four days after the attack on Dec. 19.
October 2016:
A 16-year-old boy was stabbed multiple times in Hamburg, Germany, by an assailant that was described as Middle Eastern. He later died from his injuries. ISIS took responsibility for the attack, though German officials could not confirm the authenticity of the claims at the time, Fox News reported.
July 2016:
Two men armed with knives killed an elderly priest and injured three others after seizing hostages at a Catholic church in Normandy, France. ISIS claimed responsibility. Both attackers were shot dead by French police as they attempted to leave the church.
July 2016:
In Nice, France, 86 people were killed after a large truck barreled into a thick crowd of revelers watching fireworks Bastille Day. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
June 2016:
In Istanbul, Turkey, 45 people were killed and approximately 240 wounded in an attack at the Ataturk International Airport.
June 2016:
A police officer and his partner were killed in a Paris suburb by Larossi Abballa, a man who was later killed by police. Abballa had pledged allegiance to ISIS.
March 2016:
In Brussels, Belgium, 32 people were killed and hundreds wounded in suicide bomb attacks. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the airport's departure hall during a peak travel period, and an hour later, a bomb was ignited in a train at a busy metro station, killing 16 more people. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.
March 2016:
In Istanbul, Turkey, five people, including two Americans, were killed in a suicide bombing. At least thirty-six people wounded, according to the health ministry.
January 2016:
In Istanbul, Turkey, 12 German tourists were killed and 15 wounded in a suicide bombing.
(rnz)
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