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Stockholm Truck Attack Kills 3; Terrorism Is Suspected Stockholm Truck Attack Kills 3; Terrorism Is Suspected
(35 minutes later)
The driver of a beer truck steered the vehicle toward a crowd of people and then rammed it into a department store in the heart of Stockholm on Friday afternoon, killing at least three people, the police and local news outlets reported, in what was believed to be a terrorist attack. A man steered a stolen beer truck into a crowd of people and then rammed it into a department store, killing at least three people in the heart of Stockholm on Friday afternoon, the police and local news outlets reported.
The assault comes after several other episodes in Europe in the past year in which a vehicle was used as a weapon. “Sweden’s been attacked,” the prime minister, Stefan Lofven, said. “Everything points to an act of terror.” The Swedish intelligence agency said “a large number” of people had been wounded in what officials were calling a terrorist assault.
Train service in and out of the city was halted, the police were urging people to stay at home and avoid the city center after blocking off the affected area, and the Swedish intelligence agency said “a large number” of people had been wounded. “Sweden has been attacked. All indications are that it was a terrorist attack,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said in a statement.
The attack took place on Drottninggatan, the city’s busiest shopping street. “I saw hundreds of people running, they ran for their lives,” before the truck crashed into the Ahlens department store, a witness identified only as Anna told the newspaper Aftonbladet. The Swedish Parliament was on lockdown, according to news reports. Train service in and out of the city grounded to a halt, and the police, which blocked off the affected area, urged people to stay at home and avoid the city center.
The front part of the truck ended up inside the department store, and a representative of the Spendrups brewery told Radio Sweden that the vehicle had been stolen earlier in the day. The driver of the truck was being questioned by the police. The police said the first emergency call came in around 2:50 p.m. local time as the attack unfolded in Drottninggatan, Stockholm’s busiest shopping street.
The Islamic State militant group revived the idea of using cars as weapons after it broke with Al Qaeda in 2014. Al Qaeda had rejected the tactic as too indiscriminate and likely to kill Muslims. Witnesses described a scene of panic and terror.
In the past year, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the deaths of more than 100 people in Europe. “I saw hundreds of people running; they ran for their lives” before the truck crashed into the Ahlens department store, a witness identified only as Anna told the newspaper Aftonbladet.
A militant drove into a crowd on a busy seaside promenade during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, in the south of France. Katarina Libert, a 32-year-old freelance journalist, was trying on clothes at the department store when she heard a boom and the walls shook.
Another attacker plowed a truck into shoppers at a Christmas market in Berlin. And last month, an assailant drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge near Parliament in London. At first, she said, she thought the noise was people moving things around the store, but then the fire alarm went off and staff members told her and other shoppers to get out of the building.
Other attempts, like a man trying to drive over pedestrians in Antwerp, Belgium, claimed no victims but have contributed to a sense of threat across the Continent. “We were running, we were crying, everyone was in shock,” Ms. Libert said. “We rushed down the street, and I glanced to the right and saw the truck. People were lying on the ground. They were not moving.”
Ms. Libert followed others as they were guided by officials to shelter. She said that she usually avoided busy areas that could be potential terrorist targets, but that she had decided to take the Friday afternoon off to do some shopping.
“Some people felt that this was just a matter of time,” she said. “Paris, Brussels, London and now Stockholm. I just had a feeling something like this would happen.”
The front part of the truck, which the authorities believed had been stolen minutes before the attack, ended up inside the department store. A representative of the Spendrups brewery told Radio Sweden that the vehicle had been taken earlier in the day.
The brewery’s driver told the police that he had seen a masked man steal the vehicle, and that he had unsuccessfully tried to stop him. The driver was injured in the process, according to reports.
The assault came after several other episodes in Europe in the past year in which a vehicle was used to attack people.
The Islamic State group revived the idea of using cars as weapons after it broke with Al Qaeda in 2014. In the past year, ISIS militants have claimed responsibility for the deaths of more than 100 people in Europe.
In France, a man drove into a crowd on a busy seaside promenade during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice.
Another attacker plowed a truck into shoppers at a Christmas market in Berlin.
And last month, an assailant drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge near Parliament in London.
Other attempts, including an episode in which a man tried to drive over pedestrians in Antwerp, Belgium, claimed no victims, but have contributed to a sense of dread across the Continent.
Although some Swedes have expressed concern that immigration has led to a crime wave in the country — and President Trump seemed to suggest in a speech on Feb. 18 that there had been an attack in Sweden, when in fact nothing had occurred — the country and the region remain largely peaceful and safe.Although some Swedes have expressed concern that immigration has led to a crime wave in the country — and President Trump seemed to suggest in a speech on Feb. 18 that there had been an attack in Sweden, when in fact nothing had occurred — the country and the region remain largely peaceful and safe.
The most notable exception came in 2010, when an assailant killed himself and wounded two others after detonating two bombs in central Stockholm, on a side street not far from where the attack on Friday took place.The most notable exception came in 2010, when an assailant killed himself and wounded two others after detonating two bombs in central Stockholm, on a side street not far from where the attack on Friday took place.
The attack in 2010 was said to be the first suicide bombing in Scandinavia, and it caused consternation in Sweden. It was linked to an Iraqi-born Swede who had attended college in Britain.The attack in 2010 was said to be the first suicide bombing in Scandinavia, and it caused consternation in Sweden. It was linked to an Iraqi-born Swede who had attended college in Britain.
The violent event that most durably marked Sweden was the assassination in 1986 of Olof Palme, then the country’s prime minister. The case remains unresolved and continues to reverberate in politics and society.