Almost all victims had foreign backgrounds but police have few clues about shooter’s motive
A national minute of silence was observed to honour the victims of the Obrero school shooting in Sweden. (Photo: AFP)
STOCKHOLM – The motive behind Sweden’s deadliest mass shooting may never be known but the fact that almost all of the victims had foreign backgrounds has sparked concern among the country’s immigrants.
On Feb 4, 35-year-old Rickard Andersson entered the Campus Risbergska adult education centre in Orebro and killed 10 people before turning his gun on himself.
Police have not publicly named the victims but their foreign backgrounds soon came to light when their names and photos were published in Swedish newspapers and on social media.
Salim Iskef, a 28-year-old Syrian nursing assistant who came to Sweden in 2015. Niloofar Dehbaneh, 46, an Iranian nursing assistant living in Sweden since 2011.
Elsa Teklay, a 32-year-old nursing assistant who arrived in 2015 from Eritrea. Bassam Al Sheleh, a 48-year-old baker who left Lebanon nine years ago. Ali Mohammed Jafari, 31.
Kamar, 38, who fled Somalia’s civil war 17 years ago. Aziza, a 68-year-old Kurd, who taught math at Campus Risbergska.
Three other women have not been identified in the media. One of them, a 55-year-old, was of Bosnian origin.
‘Just students’
Mirna Issa, 31, was in the middle of a Swedish language class for foreigners at Risbergska when the first gunshots rang out around midday.
“Why? We’re just students. Students don’t do anything” bad, she told AFP the day after the shooting, as she, her husband and daughter lay down f
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