A man has been arrested in Stockholm in connection with yesterday's fatal lorry attack that claimed four lives, and injured 15 others. While the police has not named the suspect, Swedish media said he is from Uzbekistan. Authorities said they could not confirm local television reports of explosives being found inside the truck.
A stolen beer truck was driven into a crowd of people in a popular shopping district in Stockholm, yesterday afternoon. It was soon rammed into a department store, triggering bloodshed and panic. Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said, "Sweden has been attacked. This indicated that it is an act of terror." A nationwide manhunt was quickly initiated, and by evening the police "caught one person of particular interest," said chief of regional police, Jan Evensson. A second arrest was reportedly made later. "We suspected that the man who was arrested is the perpetrator." He is currently being held on suspicion of committing a terrorist crime.
The city kept Central Stockholm in lockdown after the incident, evacuating the main station and metro, and shutting down central roads and various bus lines. Authorities said several spaces including a number of schools have been turned into temporary accomodation for those who could not get home because of transport disruptions. The attack comes as a surprise as Sweden is mostly known to be a peaceful and tolerant nation.
Using vehicles to attack people has become a pattern in Europe since last year. The Islamic State has claimed responsitbility for the deaths of over 100 people in the region. A man drove into a crowd on a busy seaside promenade during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, France, last year. Another attacker plowed a truck into shoppers at a Christmas market in Berlin. Last month, an assailant drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge near Parliament, London.
