Police say probing attack ‘as attempted murder, arson and aggravated weapons offence’.
Police have said five people have been shot at a school in Sweden.
The attack occurred at an adult education centre in the city of Orebro on Tuesday. The area where the centre, called the Risbergska School, is located also houses several other schools, including those with children in attendance.
The extent of the injuries was not immediately clear, according to police, and the identities of those shot were not immediately released.
“This is currently seen as attempted murder, arson and aggravated weapons offence,” police said in a statement.
A large emergency response was on site, with police saying students on the campus were being held indoors. They urged the public to stay away from the scene.
Andreas Sundling, 28, spoke to the Expressen newspaper while sheltering in a classroom.
“We heard three bangs and loud screams,” he said.
“Now, we’re sitting here waiting to be evacuated from the school. The information we have received is that we should sit and wait,” he said.
It was not immediately clear whether police were counting the perpetrator among the five shot. Police said that no officers were shot during the violence.
Sweden Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told public broadcaster SVT that the government was in close contact with authorities.
“The news of an attack at Orebro is very serious,” Strommer said.
The centre is located 200km (125 miles) west of Stockholm, on the outskirts of Orebro.
While school attacks have been rare in Sweden, there have been several serious incidents in recent years.
In March 2022, an 18-year-old student fatally stabbed two teachers at a high school in the southern city of Malmo.
Two months earlier, a 16-year-old was arrested after wounding another student and a teacher with a knife at a school in the small town of Kristianstad.
In October 2015, three people were killed in a racially motivated attack at a school in the western town of Trollhattan by a sword-wielding attacker.