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Sweden shooting at school kills 7 women and 4 men.

Sweden's government has announced plans to tighten gun laws in the wake of the worst mass shooting the country's history.
Seven women and four men between 28 and 68 died in the attack, police said, including the gunman, who killed himself.
Named widely in Swedish media as 35-year-old Rickard Andersson, the suspect had four legally owned rifles, three of which were found in the school, police said.
Sweden's centre-right coalition, which relies on the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats party, said on Friday it would seek to increase vetting around gun purchases and ban certain types of weapon.
"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.
Mass shooting leaves immigrant community on edge
Syrians and Bosnian among victims of gunman's attack
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, on a visit to Latvia, told reporters: "We have to ensure that only the right people have guns in Sweden."
The Sweden Democrats said that it agreed with proposals to amend the law, including greater restrictions on access to semi-automatic weapons.
"The horrific act of violence in Orebro raises several key questions about gun legislation," the party said in a statement.
The AR-15, a particular style of semi-automatic rifle that is both powerful and can carry large magazines, was singled out by the government as an example of weapons that could be restricted.
Police have not said exactly which weapons were used in the attack, but the AR-15 has been used in many mass shootings in the US.
They confirmed that several long rifles were found at the site of the attack in Orebro, along with 10 empty magazines.
Under current Swedish gun laws, anyone over 18 who does not have a criminal record can apply for a permit for a shotgun, handgun or semi-automatic rifle.
They must justify to the police why they need a gun. People over 20 can apply for a special dispensation to own a fully automatic weapon.
Around 580,000 Swedes have a weapons licence out of a population of around 10.5 million, according to figures from Swedish broadcaster SVT.
A 2017 Swiss study found there were about 2.3 million guns held by civilians in Sweden. That is around 23 guns per 100 people, compared with 29 in Norway and 120 per 100 in the US.
To obtain a hunting licence in Sweden, a theory and practical test is required. About 280,000 Swedes have one.
Police have yet to publicly identify the victims of the attack in Orebro, or declare a motive for the attack.
Among the dead, according to family and community members, were Syrians who fled the war there as refugees, as well as one Bosnian.
Swedish police are usually cautious about naming suspects during an investigation, but the absence of official information has contributed to a feeling of fear and uncertainty among Orebro's immigrant communities over the past few days.
"We need more information," said Nour Afram, 36, who was inside the Risbergska school when the attack began.
"We don't know why he did it, why did he target this school? Was he sick or was it something else?" she said.
Afram was waiting to go into class when she heard people screaming that there was a shooter.
"We started to run and then I heard the gunshots," she said. "One at first, then tak tak tak - maybe ten shots. I was so scared I felt like my heart stopped in my chest."
Sweden has a relatively high level of gun ownership and gun crime, by European standards, though most weapons are legally owned and used for hunting.
Gun crime is mostly associated with gangs, who have also taken to using bombs to target one another.
Non-gang-related gun crime is less common, and Tuesday's attack the nation's first school shooting and its worst mass shooting. A total of four people were killed in two separate school stabbings in 2015 and 2022.
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PHlover19701 · 56-60, M
Im glad they are taking commen sense steps to prevent this in the future.
Thrust · 56-60, M
How can this happen - it's an evolved social democracy?
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@TexChik What type of "mental; illness" though?

There is a wide range of such illnesses of which most are not a precursor to violence. It is true that some people are so predisposed towards violence that they eventually lose control and commit random murders, but these are thankfully a tiny minority. We have to be careful not to create a false axiom linking mental illness per se to being dangerous. Implying that since some murderers are mentally ill, then anyone mentally ill is a potential murderer, would be desperately illogical and cruel.

It is even harder to know motives of course, if the murderer - whatever the weapon - commits suicide or is killed by someone else at the scene. For unless the perpetrator has left a clear confession-in-advance, any evidence is somewhat circumstantial.

We might learn the murderer had a predilection for nasty web-sites and nasty weapons, especially weapons deigned only to kill and for which there is no justifiable ownership reason. We might even learn in some cases that he (rarely she?) was already known to be dangerous, perhaps by having commited violent assaults or illictly owning / carrying weapons.

Neither, though, explain why that killing spree by that person in that place at that time.

All making it harder to spot potential repeats by others.

All we can do is make it far harder for anyone to obtain weapons, and though that might not stop all random murders, it would help limit their number of incidents and number of victims. After all, as we learnt in England only last Summer, it is possible to commit such horrible crimes using as weapons, implements that normally do have innocent purposes: and that does NOT excuse needlessly owning objects intended solely for killing or seriously injuring people or animals.
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@TexChik Right!!
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@wildbill83 right!!

 
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