Prime Minister Justin Trudeau strongly condemned an apparent terrorist attack in the Swedish capital that claimed the lives of four people and injured 15 people after a truck plowed into a crowd on a shopping street and crashed into a department store in central Stockholm on Friday.
“Sophie and I join all Canadians in offering our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed in this cowardly attack,” Trudeau said in a statement. “We also hope and pray for a speedy recovery for all those wounded.”
Trudeau offered Sweden “all possible assistance” and vowed that Canada will continue working with its “international partners and allies, including Sweden, to fight terrorism and help prevent these senseless acts.”
The Canadian embassy in Sweden tweeted emergency numbers for Canadians in need of consular assistance.
#Canadians in #Stockholm requiring consular assistance please contact us. pic.twitter.com/ZwkYiOzFFr
— Canada in Sweden (@CanadaSweden) April 7, 2017
Swedish police said they had arrested one person after earlier circulating a picture of a man wearing a grey hoodie. They did not rule out the possibility other attackers were involved.
“We have a person who is arrested who may have connections to the event in Stockholm earlier today,” police spokesperson Towe Hagg said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Part of central Stockholm was cordoned off and the area was evacuated, including the main train station. All subway traffic was halted on police orders. Government offices were closed.
“Sweden has been attacked, everything points to a terrorist attack,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said.
“We are determined never to let the values we treasure be undermined by hatred” – Swedish PM after #StockholmAttackhttps://t.co/i1erkC78MV pic.twitter.com/QtT6LjYTof
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 7, 2017
“We do not know whether this was a single incident or whether there may be more incidents,” senior police officer Mats Lofving said.
Swedish brewery Spendrups said its truck had been stolen on its way to a restaurant delivery earlier in the day.
“Someone jumped into the driver’s cabin and drove off with the vehicle while the driver was unloading,” a brewery spokesperson told the TT news agency.
Several attacks in which trucks or cars have driven into crowds have taken place in Europe in the past year. Al Qaeda in 2010 urged its followers to use trucks as a weapon.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in Nice, France, last July, when a truck killed 86 people celebrating Bastille Day, and one in Berlin in December, when a truck smashed through a Christmas market, killing 12 people.
And on March 22 six people died and at least 50 were injured when a car mounted the pavement on London’s Westminster bridge and drove at high speed through pedestrians. The attacker was shot by armed police after he entered the parliament complex on foot and fatally stabbed a police officer.
With files from Reuters
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