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Truck ploughs into shoppers in Sweden: What we know so far

At least five people have been killed in the incident.
At least five people have been killed in the incident. At least five people have been killed in the incident.

At least five people have been killed and many more injured after a truck ploughed into pedestrians in Stockholm, Sweden.

Here’s what we know so far.

What happened?

The crash site
The crash site
(Andreas Schyman/AP)

The truck reportedly drove into pedestrians in Drottninggatan, a street in a busy shopping district of the Swedish capital’s centre – at just before 3pm local time – before crashing into a department store window.

Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported one witness as saying they had seen hundreds of people running for their lives near the Ahlens mall in the area. Another said they had seen the truck run over at least two people.

Pools of blood have been visible on the street along with bodies covered in blankets.

“We stood inside a shoe store and heard something … and then people started to scream,” Jan Granroth told Aftonbladet. “I looked out of the store and saw a big truck.”

Gunfire was also reportedly heard in the area.

Is it a terrorist attack?

Police getting ready
Police getting ready
(Noella Johansson/AP)

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven says everything indicates that the incident is “a terror attack”.

An Aftonbladet reporter on the scene spoke to police and they have also said they suspect the crash was terror-related.

Does this incident have precedent?

The scenes after the incident
The scenes after the incident
(Jessica Gow/AP)

The incident comes after trucks were used in terrorist attacks in Nice and Berlin last year and is also close to the scene of a terror attack in 2010 when Taimour Abdulwahab, a Swedish citizen who lived in Luton, blew himself up.

Fortunately, no-one other than the attacker was killed in that incident. Abdulwahab had rigged an Audi car with explosives in the hope that the blast would drive people to Drottninggatan – but the car bomb never detonated and in his efforts to fix the fault the bombs attached to him exploded while he was alone in a side street off the area.

What now?

The aftermath
The aftermath
(Lasse Gare/PA)

The dust is still settling on this and more images of the aftermath are now circulating on social media.

Police have cordoned off the area and ambulances are attending the scene. The full extent of what has happened and the damage caused is not yet known.