The shooter was later found dead with three guns, 10 empty magazines and a large amount of unused ammunition next to his body, officials told a news conference.

It was not clear how he died but officials said officers did not return his gunfire.

The school, Campus Risbergska, offers primary and secondary educational classes for adults age 20 and older, Swedish-language classes for immigrants, vocational training, and programs for people with intellectual disabilities.

It is on the outskirts of Orebro, about 200 kilometres from Stockholm.

Some 130 officers arrived on Tuesday after alarms summoned them to the school to find chaos across the campus. They described the scene as an “inferno” and believe the gunman turned his weapon toward them as they entered the building.

“Dead people, injured people, screams and smoke,” local police chief Lars Wirén said during the news conference.

“Many people running inside and outside the premises.”

Officers found at least five people, all over age 18 with serious gunshot wounds. Two of them remained in intensive care Thursday in serious but stable condition. The other three were in stable condition after surgery.

A sixth person was treated for minor injuries.

Police were forced to search the large school — 17,000 square metres — to ensure there were no other casualties.

Investigators had not uncovered a definitive motive behind the bloodshed by Thursday. Police said there were no warnings beforehand, and they believe the perpetrator acted alone. Authorities said there were no suspected connections to terrorism at this point.

Days of ‘shock and grief’

In Orebro, a town of 160,000 that’s considered Sweden’s seventh-largest municipality, Thursday brought more sadness but still few answers.

“It has been two days of shock and grief,” John Johansson, chairman of the town’s municipal board, told The Associated Press.

“We are still asking questions of why, still wondering what has happened. The outpouring of grief and togetherness has been enormous.”

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, as well as Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, visited Orebro on Wednesday and attended a memorial service. The Swedish Football Association pledged to begin its future international matches with a moment of silence.

Mourners elsewhere in the Scandinavian nation, where gun violence at schools is very rare, struggled to process the thought of mass violence in their own country.

“”This is not a Swedish problem, it’s a problem that we have seen throughout the world,” Johansson said.

The shooting’s online presence has prompted friends of Orebro resident Petter Jorman, a 60-year-old father whose son previously attended the school, to call and text him asking “how are you? Are you OK? I know you live close.”

‘The worst hours of my life’

The shooting started on Tuesday afternoon, after many students had gone home following a national exam.

Survivors scrambled for cover as shots rang out, sheltering behind or under whatever they could find to escape the gunman and the gore.

One woman with children feared she might never see them again, while another used her friend’s shawl to staunch the bleeding of a man who’d been shot in the shoulder.

“Those were the worst hours of my life. I did not know if I would get shot there and then, or in 10 minutes. You simply waited,” Hellen Werme, 35, told the Expressen newspaper.

While gun violence at schools is very rare in Sweden, people were wounded or killed with other weapons such as knives or axes in several incidents in recent years.

Authorities said the shooter had licenses for four weapons, three of which were found next to his body. Police have seized the fourth.

In order to possess a firearm legally, applicants must obtain a weapon license and demonstrate that it will be used for an acceptable purpose, such as hunting or target shooting, and not be misused.

Applicants must also submit previously obtained hunting or target shooting certificates. Hunting certificates require people to pass a training course, while target shooters must be certified as active and experienced members of clubs.

In Sweden, a country of roughly 10.5 million people, there were just over 660,000 registered gun owners at the beginning of 2024, according to the Swedish news agency TT. Those registered owners had some 2 million guns, objects that are considered firearms and weapon parts that require a permit.

TT reported that 1.6 million of those guns are registered for hunting, and another 176,000 for target-shooting.

All weapons must be stored in secure cabinets approved by the police. Applications for fully automatic weapons or one-handed weapons are only granted for exceptional reasons, and such permits are generally time-limited.

Permits are revoked if the weapon is modified to be substantially different from its original function.