The Swedish government is working a law adjustment that will make semi-automatic weapons including the popular AR-15 rifle illegal, according to various Swedish sources. The law change, which likely will be passes smoothly by parliament, is a direct reaction to the mass-shooting at a school for adults in Örebro earlier this week. A lone gunman shot and killed 10, and wounded 5 others, with a semi-automatic rifle. He killed himself after.
There is a fair amount of weapons owned by civilians in Sweden, as hunting is a popular activity for many. Since 1 August 2023, Armalite Rifles AR-10s and AR-15s are allowed to be used for hunting. Swedish citizens are allowed to own a maximum of four fire arms, if the police has agreed with the requested license. Sexperts say that background checks are hardly done and that it is therefor relatively easy to legally own a gun.
Sweden: about 1.9 million legal weapons
According to data by the Swedish Hunting Association, the country has about 600,000 people with a weapon’s license, and there are about 1.6 to 1.7 million legally obtained hunting weapons, plus another 200,000 other legal fire arms. On a population of about 10 million.
Victims of school shooting identified
Meanwhile Swedish authorities have identified all victims of the violence. As is common on Swedish schools for adults, many of them had a foreign passport. Among them at least two Syrians and a Bosnian. All victims lived in Örebro. They were between 28 and 68 year old.
First police officers on scene
First police officers were on scene about 5 minutes after the alert, and were met with fire and smoke when they went in. Five officers were treated in hospital for inhalation of smoke, but have all returned home. The five gun shot wounded are still being treated in hospital.
About the Komvux schools for adults
The so-called Komvux (short for kommunal vuxen, or municipality adult) schools are popular among immigrants to improve their skills and get recognised degrees to expand the possibilities to find work in Sweden. Moreover, studying in Sweden is free for all citizens with a Swedish personal number – no matter the age. | © 2025 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com. Featured photo of the AR-15 by Docmonstereyes (CC)