School Shooting in Gun-Control Utopia, Deadliest in Nation's History
Sweden does not allow just anyone to own a gun, so how did Wednesday’s tragedy occur?
Eleven people were killed in Orebro at a school for adult learners, Risbergska Adult Education Center. Reuters reported that six others were wounded and required treatment at a hospital.
Police identified 35-year-old Rickard Andersson as the suspect who, they believe, acted alone.
Questions have yet to be answered as to why the deadliest shooting in Sweden’s history occurred that day, as local police chief Roberto Eid Forest commented, “We will get back on what motives there are.”
However, there are a few things known about Sweden itself when it comes to guns.
Swedish police require a weapon license, which can be requested on their website.
Along with an application, applicants must submit their reason for why they are applying.
After paying a fee, applicants await a decision to see if a license has been granted.
License holders can be subject to revocation, according to the police website:
“If your [license] is revoked, you may not use your weapon. Both the weapon and the [license] must be submitted to the police for safekeeping. You have three months to sell the weapon yourself. The police then determine whether the sale can go through.”
Needless to say, none of this stopped Wednesday’s tragedy.
Eleven people are dead at the hands of someone who wanted to hurt people and ruin lives.
A gun license did not matter, nor did Sweden’s laws in those moments.
Shootings often provoke the left to rehash their usual arguments about gun control, calling for stricter laws, background checks, gun-free zones, and more.
These are all things that will impact law-abiding citizens, not deranged murderous criminals who only wish to kill.
It would be insane to believe a killer with a revoked gun license simply would put the gun down and not commit the crime upon revocation.
There has been a deadly mass shooting at a school in central Sweden. The shooter reportedly used a fully automatic firearm. Where did he get it? pic.twitter.com/wXe70T0dC5
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) February 4, 2025
Similarly, declaring someplace a gun-free zone does not keep a criminal from entering the property.
Although many details have yet to come out of Wednesday, the facts don’t present a compelling case for gun activists and the rest of the left in the United States.
We are often told to look to our European counterparts as an example of how our own system can improve by leaps and bounds — whether it be in gun control, economics, or immigration — but no system is perfect.
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