Suspect in Stockholm beer truck attack had asylum request rejected
Posted Apr 9, 2017 08:53:09 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
STOCKHOLM — Swedish prosecutors have arrested a second person and are holding four others in connection with Friday’s beer truck attack in Stockholm.
Spokeswoman Karin Rosander told The Associated Press “a person suspected of terrorist offences by murder has been arrested” on Sunday.
In all, Jan Evenssen of the Stockholm police said authorities have questioned over 500 people in the investigation so far.
Police say the truck attack suspect from Uzbekistan was an asylum-seeker who had his application for a residence permit in Sweden rejected and was being sought by authorities for deportation.
Evensson said that the 39-year-old suspect’s request was rejected in June 2016 but police could not find him for deportation because he was not at the address he had given.
Jonas Hysing of Sweden’s national police says “we know he has been sympathetic to extremist organizations.”
Evenssen said the four victims killed in the Stockholm attack included one person from Britain, one from Belgium and two Swedes.
The Stockholm county that keeps track of those hospitalized says of the 15 injured, 10 remain in three hospitals in the city, including one child.
Spokesman Patrik Soderberg says in a statement that four of the 10 are considered to be “seriously” injured and the remaining six, including the child, are slightly injured.
