Swedish police arrest suspect in truck-ramming attack

The suspect in a truck-ramming attack in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday, had reportedly hijacked a beer truck several blocks earlier. 

The main suspect in carrying out a truck-ramming attack in Stockholm, Sweden on Friday is a 39-year-old Uzbekistan native who was apparently on the radar of security services, Swedish officials said on Saturday.

The suspect allegedly drove a beer truck into a crowd of shoppers at the Ahlens Department store, killing four people and injuring approximately 15. The attacker reportedly hijacked the truck some blocks away beforehand.

While it has yet to be established if the suspect has ties to terror groups, he reportedly posted videos regarding ISIS atrocities on Facebook, according to a Swedish newspaper.

After a manhunt was launched in pursuit of the attacker, the suspect was detained early Saturday morning in Marsta, located north of Stockholm and near the city’s international airport.

Police forces were pelted with stones on Friday night during the manhunt while arresting a 17-year old and his mother at an address linked to the suspect, located near the Rinkeby district of Stockholm. Both were later released.

Police and security officials, however, are still investigating the likelihood that others were involved in the attack.

“We do not know whether there are further persons involved in this act or not, but we are not excluding that” said chief of Swedish Police Dan Eliasson during a press conference on Saturday. “We are still working on a very comprehensive approach to see whether there is any possibility that further individuals are involved.”

Police also discovered a suspicious object inside the truck.

“We confirm that we have found a device in the truck that doesn’t belong there. We are now investigating its content,” Eliasson added. “Whether this was a classic bomb or some sort of flammable device is now a matter for our analysis.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered at the location of Friday’s attack and placed a number of flowers on the site. Several prominent Swedish officials, including the King stopped by.

“We have experienced other violent acts before and we survived then,” King Carl XVI Gustaf said according to CNN. “We will also survive now… Sweden is — has been for a long time — and shall continue to be a safe and peaceful country.”

“The goal is that we are supposed to be afraid, but Sweden has shown itself from its best side,” CNN quoted Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. “That is a strength that no one can take away from us.”

By: World Israel News Staff

StockholmSweden