TERROR IN SWEDEN: At least five people dead after stolen truck rams pedestrians in Stockholm shopping centre and 'three gunmen' open fire before police bundle a suspect to the ground
- WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Carnage on streets of Swedish capital leaves five dead and dozens more hurt
- Masked man hijacked beer truck and ploughed into crowds outside Stockholm's largest shopping centre
- Three men were seen leaping from the lorry and opening fire on officers and pedestrians at around 3pm
- Two terror suspects are arrested after shootout - but third gunman may be hiding in city's Central Station
- Prime Minister Stefan Lofven says the truck crash 'is an act of terror' and asks people to stay off the streets
Up to five people are believed to have been killed in a terrorist attack when a stolen truck rammed into shoppers in Stockholm before running through the city centre shooting at and stabbing pedestrians.
Three men were seen leaping from the lorry and opening fire on police who had surrounded the hijacked vehicle at around 3pm local time.
Police said the vehicle crashed into a group of people on the street outside a shopping centre after racing down six streets.
Hundreds of shoppers were seen fleeing for their lives after the articulated truck rammed into the corner of the building. Dozens were believed to have been injured.
The driver was said by witnesses to be wearing a balaclava. Two suspects are thought to have been arrested.
At least one man is believed to be on the run wearing a green jacket, white shoes and a grey hoodie.
The incident took place at Ahlens, a department store in Klarabergsgatan.
Armed 'terrorists' were then seen running into Stockholm's Central railway station and opening fire. Two people were also said to have been stabbed.
Police have shut the station down, which is the main hub for communal transport in the city.
People were seen running after a truck crashed into Ahlens, a department store in Klarabergsgatan, at around 3pm local time
A man in scrubs was seen walking along the street with several emergency services people behind him. Several bodies were seen covered by blankets
Above shows a man being apprehended by police. Witnesses say this is the driver but this has not been confirmed by officers
An injured person was seen being carried from the chaotic scenes at Ahlens by a group of people. Dozens of people are thought to have been injured
The back of the truck, sticking out of the shopping centre, is seen here moments after ramming several people as they shopped
This comes after trucks were used in terror attacks in Nice and Berlin last year. A car was also used to kill pedestrians in the Westminster Bridge two weeks ago which killed five people.
After yet another terror attack on European soil, MailOnline understands:
- Terror suspect jumped into cab of a beer lorry while its driver was making a delivery
- Masked man sped through central Stockholm aiming at pedestrians before crashing into the Åhlens department store Klarabergsgatan. Five confirmed dead and dozens more injured
- Witnesses hear shots fired but the suspect appears unhurt and was dived on by police at the scene and arrested; Another suspect was also held in the aftermath in a nearby street
- Horrifying images show streets smeared with blood and bodies covered in blankets
- Second incident ongoing at central railway station amid fears a gunman is on the loose in the building. Commuters have been locked in trains and bomb disposal squad also there
- Prime Minister Stefan Lofven says the truck crash 'is an act of terror' and urges public to clear the streets
- Fears it could be a copycat attack weeks after hit-and-run murderer strikes on Westminster Bridge
The truck is understood to have been stolen or hijacked from a Spendrups brewery. Extinguisher was seen being sprayed on to the vehicle after the incident.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said everything pointed to the incident being a terror attack and confirmed one person has been arrested.
Armed police were scrambled to the scene and were seen marching into the store.
A Swedish radio reporter said she had seen at least five dead bodies, Aftonbladet reported.
Swedish police confirmed three have been killed and eight injured.
Witnesses described seeing a 'lone man' put a balaclava over his face before he drove the drunk into crowds of people.
All public transport in the city is on lock down with train services connecting Stockholm Central Station and the underground being stopped.
Ulf Andersson, who is Stockholm, said the police are 'really scared' and urging locals to move from central parts of the busy city.
He said: 'The police are really, really scared. They are telling people to move from the central parts of the city and not to walk in groups.'
Dan Horning lives on the busy 'main walking street' where the attack took place and said the death toll could be 'enormous' because it's always so busy.
He was not inside his home at the time but said the articulated lorry would have raced down 'about six blocks' before it 'hit a lot of people'.
Mr Horning said: 'My door was right where the terror attack started. Somebody drove a truck down my street in Stockholm - about six blocks - and hit a lot of people.
'It is a main walking street in the centre of Stockholm and was filled with people. We don't know the death toll yet, but it could be enormous.'
Blood was seen on the streets outside of the shopping centre where five people are said to have been killed and dozens more injured
Emergency services were seen tending to injured people and putting blankets over those who had been killed
Above are the scenes in the city currently, where dozens of emergency services vehicles are tending to injured people
Armed police were seen patrolling the streets of Sweden after the horrific attacks on pedestrians in the city
Another officer was seen donning a gas mask as he tried to calm people and evacuate them from the area
Bystanders were seen comforting each other outside of the Central station, where another incident is said to have happened
Anna who witnessed the incident, said: 'I saw hundreds of people ran, they ran for their lives.
'I turned and ran as well.'
Eyewitness Jan Granroth was inside a shoe shop when he heard screams.
He told Swedish daily paper Aftonbladet: 'We stood inside a shoe store and people started screaming.
'So I looked out of the store and I saw a huge truck slam into the wall opposite.'
Mr Granroth managed to escape after running through an emergency exit.
Another witness, called Dimitris, described the panic and saw 'at least' two people being run over.
He said: I went to the main street when a big truck came out of nowhere. I could not see if anyone was driving it but it got out of control.
'I saw at least two being run over - I ran as fast as I could.'
A woman, called Anna, witnessed the incident and described seeing 'hundreds of people running for their lives'.
She said: 'I turned and ran after seeing hundreds of people running, they ran for their lives.'
Shocking video footage showed hundreds of terrified shoppers sprint for their lives after the truck rammed into pedestrians.
Just moments after the suspected terrorist incident, armed police wearing gas masks quickly rushed to the scene and shut off the busy road in the centre of the capital.
Maria Nathalie was on the top floor of the store when the fire alarm was triggered.
Speaking on the phone, she told NBC: 'People started running down the stairs when the fire alarm started.
'When we came down to the bottom of the building all we could see was a lot of smoke.'
As the centre of the city began to clear this afternoon, the blood stains could be seen as bodies covered in blankets were left on the road.
Paramedics desperately treated injured people near the lorry after they had been caught up in the attack.
Terrified eyewitness Veronica Durango, 42, miraculously escaped and was just one metre away from being struck by the vehicle.
She told Expressen: 'I could have died.'
The Swedish royal family has issued a statement in which they say they have learned with dismay of the events. 'We follow the developments and our thoughts are with the victims and their families.'
How vehicles became terrorists' favourite weapons
There have been five attacks using cars and trucks in the past nine months.
London
On 22 March, Khalid Masood, 52, drove a Hyundai 4x4 over Westminster Bridge, mowing down members of the public before crashing into a fence beside Big Ben.
He then got out of the car and attacked PC Keith Palmer with a knife.
Masood was shot twice by police and died when he was taken to hospital.
Five people died in the attack, including PC Palmer.
Antwerp
The day after the Westminster attack, a man in Antwerp drove into a crowded shopping area in the Belgian city in an attempted attack, but no one was injured.
Prosecutors today dropped terrorism charges against Mohamed R. as there was not enough evidence.
He remains in custody on a weapons offence related to the incident.
Jerusalem
On January 8, a Palestinian lorry driver mowed down and then reversed over Israeli soldiers, killing four and wounding 15 people, in a shocking copycat of the Berlin and Nice terror massacres.
Shocking video from the scene showed the driver reversing back over the soldiers, trapping ten under his wheels, during the sickening attack.
Berlin
A copycat ISIS-inspired massacre took place in Germany when a terrorist drove a truck through a Christmas market in Berlin.
Twelve people were killed in the attack on December 19.
Anis Amri stole a cargo truck and killed 12 people when he drove through a Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at Breitscheidplatz.
Among the dozen people killed was the original driver of the truck Lukasz Urban who was found dead with a gunshot wound in the passenger street.
Amri was a Tunisian who had failed to gain asylum status in the country.
He was killed in Milan four days later after an international manhunt.
Nice
On Bastille Day in the summer of last year, 86 people were killed when a truck was driven through crowds enjoying fireworks in Nice.
On the evening of July 14, 2016, a 19-tonne cargo truck was driven into crowds on the Promenage des Anglais.
ISIS fanatic Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was behind the wheel and after exchanging gunfire with police, the Tunisian migrant was shot dead.
Thousands had gathered on the seafront to watch the fireworks that night.
86 of them died and 434 were injured.
No comments:
Post a Comment