What we know:
– A truck drove into a crowd of people on the busy Stockholm shopping street Drottninggatan just before 15:00 on Friday.
– Four people were killed and at least 15 injured.
– Police could not confirm reports of shots being fired near the Åhlens City department store or in the city’s Fridhemsplan district.
– Police have said they have arrested a person in Märsta, north of Stockholm, who could be linked to the attack. They have confirmed that the person matches an image released by police earlier on Friday, but declined to release more details.
– Swedish brewery company Spendrups, which owns the truck, said it had been stolen earlier in the day.
– The city’s subway system has resumed after being shut down, but some stations remain closed. Stockholm’s central railway station was evacuated earlier in the day.
– Swedish PM Stefan Löfven has said that Sweden “has been attacked” in an apparent terrorist incident.
– The Prime Minister said Sweden was strengthening its borders after the attack.
– Police have made one arrest but are as yet unsure if the man being held was involved in the attack.
22:09 We are now closing the live report. Here is how the day’s events unfolded:
21:51: Prime Minister Stefan Löfven told reporters on Friday evening that Sweden had reinforced its borders with immediate effect.
21:48: The Prime Minister said the attack was a “tragedy for the families involved.” He stressed that Sweden would do “whatever it takes” for people to feel safe. “Terrorists want us to be afraid…to not live our lives normally, but that is what we are going to do. Terrorists can never defeat Sweden, never.”
21:43: “A whole country is united in grief, anger and resolve,” said Prime Minister Stefan Löfven at a Friday evening press conference.
21:34: When asked by a journalist at the press conference police said they have not been able to confirm reports of shootings near an Åhlens store and in Fridhemsplan.
21:27: Police declined to release more details about the identity of the person seized in Märsta, including their nationality.
21:22: “We have arrested a person who is of interest to us. We also released an image of a person we were looking for. The person arrested matches this description,” Jan Evensson of the Stockholm Police said at a press conference on Friday night.
20:46 Faisal Khan, a Swedish citizen originally from Afghanistan, told The Local he was “pretty shaken up” after witnessing the incident at close quarters.
“Luckily he was not a good driver. It felt to me like he did not have experience driving such a large vehicle. This guy really wanted to cause a lot of damage.”
READ MORE of Faisal Khan’s eyewitness account.
20:43: “One person has been arrested who could be linked to the matter. We cannot say more about the arrest right now,” an update on the Stockholm Police website says.
20:40: Stockholm Police have confirmed that four people are dead and 15 people have been injured in the attack.
20:33: The Aftonbladet tabloid reports, citing several unnamed sources, that a man has been arrested in Märsta north of Stockholm. The reports are unconfirmed by police. Aftonbladet writes that the man had minor injuries and said he was guilty of the attack in Stockholm.
20:31: Stockholm County Council has confirmed that one person has died in hospital and 15 other injured people are being treated in relation to the incident.
“One person has died in hospital after the incident in central Stockholm. 15 injured adults and children are being treated at hospital. Nine of them have serious injuries,” a statement on their website said.
Hospitals continue to be ready to take in more injured, the statement adds, but notes that it is too early to provide more detailed information.
“My thoughts go to all of those affected. We are full focused on the work needed to take care of injured and affected and are working together with different agencies,” Stockholm County Council head doctor Johan Bratt said.
20:07: Stockholm public transport operator SL has been given the go ahead to start the metro again and the trains have gradually started to move, but will not be stopping at the central T-centralen station as well as Hötorget station, and a slow services is expected for the time being.
The commuter train has also been given permission to resume, but tracks may be backlogged with intercity trains.
“It could take a bit more time before we have fully working traffic again because it can take some time to get drivers in and get traffic flowing,” SL press officer Henrik Palmér told news agency TT.
Buses will be redirected according to police cordons for the moment.
19:41 The Local’s David Landes, like thousands of others, had a long trek home with public transportation on hold. But on Hornsgatan and Götgatan, busy streets on the trendy Södermalm island, the mood was calm. “It feels like a normal Friday – but with more people on the sidewalk, fewer cars on the roads- and no buses.”
Photo: David Landes/TheLocal
19:30: Thousands of people are walking home this evening all across Stockholm after trains and buses were cancelled. Some underground trains have started running again, but delays are to be expected. Check travel advice here.
People walking home in central Stockholm. Photo: Tara Sonnorp/The Local
19:15: Police have brought two people in for questioning, but have not said who they are. “It absolutely does not mean that they are suspects,” police spokesperson Lars Byström told the TT news agency.
19:08: The Local has been speaking to eyewitnesses and people near the scene today. “We saw people running and screaming. We were told to stay in the café at first. The place got emptied out quickly. There was such a big panic,” a Spanish man told us.
18:41: Stockholm City Council has opened its doors to those who are not able to get home tonight because of trains and buses being cancelled. These premises are located at: Kammakargatan 30, Observatorielundens skola Norrtullsgatan, Hantverkargatan 3, Göta Ark Medborgarplatsen 25 and Bo Bergmans gata 4.
18:30: This picture has been published on Twitter of smoke rising from the building.
18:15: A woman who works in an office block a hundred metres from the scene tells The Local they were not allowed to leave the building without being escorted by police. “There were police helicopters hovering over the square,” she said. “I won’t be able to get home because trains and buses are not running.”
EYEWITNESSES: ‘The wall came towards us like an avalanche’
18:05: The press conference has now concluded. The head of Sweden’s security police, Anders Thorngren, said they had prepared for a similar incident. “Earlier this week we rehearsed a similar scenario. Säpo focuses on the intelligence work and who could behind this,” he said.
While the identity of the attacker or attackers has not been confirmed, Säpo named terror attacks by lone wolves as one of the main threats to Sweden in its annual report published earlier this year.
READ ALSO: The four big security challenges facing Sweden today
18:00: Police have released CCTV images of a man they would like to trace “in connection with the suspected terror attack in Stockholm”.
17:42: A police press conference has started in Stockholm. “A truck drove into Åhlens on Drottninggatan. We have truck and are in contact with the person who normally drives the truck,” says Sweden’s national police chief Dan Eliasson, adding that they do not have the individual or individuals driving the truck at the time of the attack.
17:23: A number of busy shopping locations in Stockholm have been evacuated at the request of the police. Along with the city’s central railway station, the Åhlens department stores in the city centre, Odenplan, Fridhemsplan, Skanstull and Östermalmstorg have all been evacuated, as has the Mall of Scandinavia shopping centre in Solna. All of national film chain SF’s Stockholm cinemas are closed this evening. Other events at Dramaten, Cirkus and Konserthuset have also been cancelled.
17:18: Images have been released of armed police at various locations in Stockholm.
Stockholm Central Station. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT
Source:Thelocal.se