Sweden: what we know about the alleged "terrorist attack" which left seven injured

Sweden is still in shock.

Almost 24 hours after the terrible attack which sowed terror in the usually very quiet streets of Vetlanda, the country still has many questions about what happened Wednesday evening in this small town of 13,000 inhabitants, located 200 km east of Gothenburg.

The authorities, who arrested the alleged perpetrator, a 22-year-old Afghan boy according to local media, are currently trying to determine whether or not these facts are linked to the terrorist movement.

We take stock.

What happened in Vetlanda?

Around 3 p.m. local time (3 p.m. also in Paris) on Wednesday, a knife attack was reported in this small town in the east of the country.

According to the police, confirming the accounts of several witnesses to the tragedy, the attack took place at five locations in downtown Vetlanda, separated by a few hundred meters.

In this residential town, usually very quiet, a man, armed with a knife, injured several people, apparently at random.

“I was just walking home when my best friend wrote to me:

Don't go out

!

 “, Told in the wake of Olivia Strandberg, a resident interviewed by Swedish television SVT.

“It's so unreal, we live in such a small town.

We don't think that can happen ”.

At first, the authorities had mentioned a toll of eight wounded, including several seriously affected.

This Thursday morning, via a press release, they revised the figures a little downwards, now speaking of seven injured.

"The number of wounded affected by the alleged assailant stands at seven. Previously, information advanced a figure of eight wounded," police said.

But as the day before, we deplore among these victims three people suffering from life-threatening injuries and two from serious injuries, according to a report provided by the hospital in Jönköping, the capital of the region.

What do we know about the attacker?

According to Swedish media, the suspect of this attack is a 22-year-old Afghan, who arrived in the country in 2018. According to the Aftonbladet and Expressen dailies, this young man had been living in Vetlanda for a few months.

Still according to these sources, the police searched his home overnight.

Despite these revelations, the police, who are investigating possible terrorist motivations in addition to attempted murders, have not confirmed the identity or nationality of the individual, but indicated that he lived in the area and that he was in his twenties.

Seeming to confirm the profile drawn up by Aftonbladet and Expressen.

Authorities also say the man was known to police for minor offenses - according to local media he had been convicted of cannabis use.

The suspect was arrested shortly after Wednesday's attack after a police officer shot him in the leg.

Hospitalized for the treatment of his injuries, he is not yet able to be heard.

Terrorist attack or not?

This is obviously the question the whole country is now asking itself.

If the trail had initially seemed to be ruled out by the authorities, the police then clearly explained that they suspected a "terrorist crime".

While remaining cautious during their press briefing on Wednesday evening, the investigators explained that “there are details of the investigation which make us work on possible terrorist motivations.

But I cannot specify what it is ”.

This Thursday morning, it is still time for restraint to qualify the motivations surrounding this attack.

A new press conference to be held in the afternoon.

“I condemn this terrible act.

We face these heinous acts with the collective strength of society ”, reacted Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

The police and intelligence, who collaborate in this case, "constantly assess the need for reasons to take security measures and we are ready to do so if necessary," he said on social networks.

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It must be said that the operating mode is reminiscent of several terrorist acts committed with knives in Europe last year (in London in February 2020, in Paris last September or in Nice in October).

Sweden has also been directly affected by attacks in recent years: in 2010 and 2017, twice in the capital in Stockholm.