One dead in suspected gang-related Orebro shooting, Swedish police say

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By Anna Ringstrom and Essi Lehto

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -One man was shot dead on Friday in the Swedish city of Orebro in what was likely a gang-related crime, police said.

A second man was injured in the attack, near the Orebro Mosque, and taken to hospital. Police declined to comment on the extent of the man’s injuries.

“I want to stress that currently, we don’t see any connection to the mosque. On the other hand, we do see a connection to criminal groups,” a police spokesperson told reporters during a news conference.

At least one suspect was seen leaving the scene, though police said there had been no arrests as yet. Police said the case was being investigated as murder and attempted murder.

Sweden has endured more than a decade of gang-related violence and the number of deadly shootings is among the highest in Europe. The murder rate, however, is similar to other countries.

“Based on the current situation regarding the shooting in Orebro, the incident is believed to be linked to the criminal network environment,” the police said in a statement without elaborating.

In February, 10 students and teachers were killed in a shooting in Orebro, some 200 km (125 miles) west of Stockholm, in what became Sweden’s deadliest gun attack.

The perpetrator in the February shooting was a former student who also killed himself, and was not associated with criminal gangs. Investigators found no clear motive in the case.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm and Essi Lehto in Hesinki, additional reporting by Johan Ahlander and Niklas Pollard, editing by Terje Solsvik, Toby Chopra, Clelia Oziel, William Maclean)