Sweden to limit access to weapons after mass shooting

STOCKHOLM: Sweden on Friday said it will introduce a bill to amend weapon laws and restrict access to semi-automatic guns after the country´s worst mass shooting this week.

The move comes after a gunman killed 10 people on Tuesday before apparently killing himself at an education centre in Orebro, west of Stockholm.

“There are certain types of weapons that are so dangerous that they should only be possessed for civilian purposes as an exception,” the government said in a statement.

The Sweden Democrats, who are propping up the government, had agreed on a proposal to amend the laws, including restricting access to semi-automatic weapons, the statement said. “The horrific act of violence in Orebro raises several key questions about gun legislation,” it said.

Police have said several long-barrelled weapons and 10 empty magazines were recovered alongside the suspected gunman.

Police have not specified the types of arms recovered but have confirmed he had a license for four weapons, three of which were found next to him.

The government said it specifically wanted to restrict access to semi-automatic weapons such as the AR-15, citing it as “an example of a weapon that is compatible with large magazines and can cause a lot of damage in a short time”.

It noted that the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency had approved its use for hunting in 2023 and said it wanted to scrap this.

The government also said it would also change the rules to assess if a person was fit to possess firearms.

It referred to a recent probe which had found that “several of the requirements that are currently taken into account in the suitability assessment for a licence to possess a firearm are not sufficiently clear”.

The same probe, the results of which was presented to the government in May, noted “it cannot be ruled out” that violent individuals could get a hunting licence to “gain access to semi-automatic rifles that can easily be fitted with large magazines.”

The coalition government said it would also instruct police and social services to step up their cooperation in reporting people who are medically unfit to own a firearm. Police have said they were still working to establish a motive for the shooting.

Anna Bergqvist, who is heading the investigation, told AFP Thursday there were “multiple nationalities, different genders and different ages” among those killed.