Terror truck in Stockholm crushes many
Hijacked truck ploughs into a crowd of people outside a busy department store
Stockholm, April 7: A hijacked truck ploughed into a crowd outside a department store in Stockholm Friday, causing “deaths” in what the prime minister described as a “terror attack.”
The attack is latest in a string of similar assaults with vehicles in Europe.
“Everything points to a terror attack,” said PM Stefan Lofven.
Police released a grainy picture of a suspect but said they did not have him in custody.
Local media said two or three people were dead.
A truck plowed into a crowd on a shopping street and crashed into a department store in central Stockholm on Friday, killing three people and wounding eight in what the prime minister said appeared to be a terrorist attack.
Swedish police said noone had been arrested in connection with the attack. They showed a picture of a man wearing a grey hoodie and said they were looking for him. They did not rule out the possibility that other attackers were involved.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
“I turned around and saw a big truck coming toward me. It swerved from side to side. It didn’t look out of control, it was trying to hit people,” Glen Foran, an Australian tourist in his 40s, told Reuters.
“It hit people, it was terrible. It hit a pram with a kid in it, demolished it. It took a long time for police to get here. I suppose from their view it was quick, but it felt like forever,” he said.
Part of central Stockholm was cordoned off and the area was evacuated, including the main train station. All subway traffic was halted on police orders. Government offices were closed.
“Sweden has been attacked. Everything points to the fact that this is a terrorist attack,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told reporters during a visit in western Sweden. He was immediately returning to the capital.
Many police and emergency services personnel were at the scene, said a Reuters witness who saw policemen put what appeared to be two bodies in body bags. Bloody tire tracks on Drottninggatan (Queen Street) showed where the beer truck had passed.
The truck had been stolen while making a delivery to a restaurant further up Drottninggatan, Spendrups Brewery spokesman Marten Lyth said. A masked person jumped into the cab, started the truck and drove away.
Sweden has been attacked. Everything points to a terror attack
— Stefan Lofven, Sweden PM There are deaths, and many injured — Nina Odermalm Schei, Spokeswoman, Swedish intel agency