Örebro: A tragic mass shooting in Sweden has left 11 people dead, including the attacker. Among the victims was Salim Iskef, a 29-year-old who had fled war-torn Syria a decade ago to seek safety in Sweden. An unemployed Swedish man with no apparent ideological motive gunned down Iskef, who had escaped the horrors of the Islamic State that killed his father.
The Victims and Their Community
The shooting took place at the Risbergska adult education school in Orebro, central Sweden. The attack devastated the Syriac-speaking Christian community, which has around 200,000 members in Sweden, including 5,000 in Orebro. The shooting injured another Syriac speaker, while two others witnessed the gunman open fire.
Iskef had been planning to marry in the summer and had recently bought a house with his fiancée. His dreams were shattered in an instant. “He had so many beautiful plans and dreams,” said Jacob Kaselia, a priest at St. Mary’s Church in Orebro, who led a memorial service attended by 400 people.
Chaos at the School
Swedish police described the attack as an ‘inferno.’ The Risbergska school provides education and Swedish language courses for immigrants, and authorities are investigating whether the attacker had been a student there. Police have not yet disclosed the identities of all victims but confirmed that the attack killed and injured people of different ages, genders, and nationalities.
A Final Goodbye
After the attacker shot him, Iskef managed to call his mother and fiancée to say he loved them. That was the last time they heard his voice. “His fiancée is totally destroyed,” said Kaselia. “We try to help her, but honestly, it’s very hard.”
A Rare Tragedy in Sweden
Sweden has faced increasing gang-related violence in recent years, but mass shootings in schools are extremely rare. The country is now grappling with the shock and grief of an attack that took the lives of innocent people, including those who had already endured unimaginable suffering in their home countries.
The investigation into the attack continues as authorities search for answers and a grieving community mourns its losses.
