Ismail Moradi, 16, would typically be seen carrying his textbooks to school. However, on Wednesday, he held a bouquet of red flowers to honor the victims of Sweden’s deadliest mass shooting. “I was in shock and uncertain about attending school today after such a nearby tragedy,” he shared with us. Ismail’s former elementary school is adjacent to the adult learning center that was attacked the previous day. While authorities have yet to disclose a motive for the incident, Ismail, who is of Kurdish descent, expresses concern that the shooting may have had a racial component.
“This school primarily serves newcomers to Sweden, with very few native Swedes.
Therefore, I believe it was aimed at a specific group of individuals.” Swedish law enforcement continues to investigate the shooter’s background and has not confirmed that the attack, which resulted in 11 fatalities, was premeditated. Hellen Werme, a 35-year-old nursing student, was among those who survived the assault. She and her classmates barricaded themselves in their classroom while the assailant roamed the hallways. “We could hear the gunfire,” she recounted. “I felt that at any moment, I could be shot and never return to my children.” We encountered her outside the college, where a continuous stream of local residents lit candles and stared at the school site, which remains cordoned off.
The vacant expressions in the frigid wind illustrate the profound shock that has enveloped many Swedes over the past day.
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