The shooter who earlier this week killed 10 people in Sweden’s worst mass shooting was connected to the adult education centre where he opened fire with at least one rifle-like weapon, law enforcement officials said.

Authorities said the gunman, who has not yet been officially identified, may have attended school there before Tuesday’s violence on the school campus west of Stockholm.

After the carnage, the shooter turned the gun on himself, police said, adding they have recovered three guns, 10 empty magazines and a large amount of unused ammunition next to his body.

The school, Campus Risbergska, offers primary and secondary educational classes for adults age 20 and older, Swedish-language classes for immigrants, vocational training, and programmes for people with intellectual disabilities. It is on the outskirts of Orebro, about 200km from Stockholm.

The school, Campus Risbergska, where the mass shooting happened in Sweden offers primary and secondary educational classes for adults age 20 and older, Swedish-language classes for immigrants, vocational training, and programs for people with intellectual disabilities.

It is on the outskirts of Orebro, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Stockholm.

Mourners elsewhere in Sweden, where gun violence at schools is very rare, struggled to process the thought of mass violence in their own country.

“”This is not a Swedish problem, it’s a problem that we have seen throughout the world,” John Johansson, chairman of Orebro’s municipal board, said. “We are still asking questions of why, still wondering what has happened.”

The Swedish Football Association has pledged to begin its future international matches with a moment of silence.

It comes after King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, as well as Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, visited Orebro on Wednesday and attended a memorial service.

Swedish Police have confirmed they are not ruling out the possibility that the mass school shooting was racially motivated as it emerged that the 10 people killed are of multiple nationalities.

When asked if they have ruled out the possibility the attack was racially motivated, the force told The Independent their investigation is ongoing, but they are looking at this broadly and not ruling out anything at this stage.

A survivor of the Swedish school shooting has described the attack as “the worst hours of my life”.

The shooting started on Tuesday afternoon, after many students had gone home following a national exam.

Survivors scrambled for cover as shots rang out, sheltering behind or under whatever they could find to escape the gunman and the gore.

One woman with children feared she might never see them again, while another used her friend’s shawl to staunch the bleeding of a man who’d been shot in the shoulder.

“Those were the worst hours of my life. I did not know if I would get shot there and then, or in 10 minutes. You simply waited,” Hellen Werme, 35, told the Expressen newspaper.

After shooting victim Salim Iskef, 29, was shot he called his mother and fiancee to tell them that he loved them. That was the last they heard from him.

“His fiancee is totally destroyed,” Jacob Kaselia, a friend of the family and priest at St Mary’s church in Orebro, said after leading a memorial service for the 29-year-old in front of about 400 people. “We try to help her, but honestly, it’s very hard.”

In Orebro, a town of 160,000 that’s considered Sweden’s seventh-largest municipality, Thursday brought more sadness but still few answers.

“It has been two days of shock and grief,” John Johansson, chairman of the town’s municipal board, said. “We are still asking questions of why, still wondering what has happened. The outpouring of grief and togetherness has been enormous.”

While gun violence at schools is very rare in Sweden, people were wounded or killed with other weapons such as knives or axes in several incidents in recent years.

Authorities said the shooter had licenses for four weapons, three of which were found next to his body. Police have seized the fourth.

In order to possess a firearm legally, applicants must obtain a weapon license and demonstrate that it will be used for an acceptable purpose, such as hunting or target shooting, and not be misused. Applicants must also submit previously obtained hunting or target shooting certificates. Hunting certificates require people to pass a training course, while target shooters must be certified as active and experienced members of clubs.

In Sweden, a country of roughly 10.5 million people, there were just over 660,000 registered gun owners at the beginning of 2024, according to the Swedish news agency TT. Those registered owners had some 2 million guns, objects that are considered firearms and weapon parts that require a permit.

TT reported that 1.6 million of those guns are registered for hunting, and another 176,000 for target-shooting.

All weapons must be stored in secure cabinets approved by the police. Applications for fully automatic weapons or one-handed weapons are only granted for exceptional reasons, and such permits are generally time-limited.

Permits are revoked if the weapon is modified to be substantially different from its original function.

Authorities have said there were no suspected connections to terrorism at this point.

However, investigators had not uncovered a definitive motive behind the bloodshed by Thursday.

Police said there were no warnings beforehand, and they believe the perpetrator acted alone.