One person was killed and another wounded Friday in a shooting near a mosque in southern Sweden, an attack police said they believed was linked to feuding organised crime gangs.
Local media quoted witnesses as saying at least one person was shot as he left the mosque in the town of Orebro, about 200 kilometres west of Stockholm.
Police said in a statement that a man “around the age of 25 died as a result of the wounds he suffered”. The condition of the second person was not disclosed.
Police provided no details about the deceased’s identity or the circumstances of the shooting, and urged the public to stay away from the scene as their search for the shooter continued several hours after the incident.
“We are currently actively pursuing the perpetrator or perpetrators,” police spokesman Anders Dahlman told media.
“We are interviewing witnesses and carrying out our technical investigation,” he said.
The shooting occurred as people were leaving the mosque after Friday prayers, sparking panic as people ran from the scene, local media reported.
One witness told Swedish public broadcaster SVT that he was standing just a few metres (yards) away from one of the men who was shot.
“He was on his way out of the mosque. Then another man came up and fired four, five shots,” said the witness, whose name was not disclosed. –Agencies
