Posted on April 7, 2017

Photos: Third Terror Suspect Is Arrested and Confesses to Ramming a Truck Into Shoppers in Stockholm and Killing at Least Four

Ulf Andersson, Isobel Frodsham, Martin Robinson, Abe Hawken, and Rory Tingle, Daily Mail, April 7, 2017

Hijacked Truck Drives Into Crowd In Stockholm

Credit Image: © Ibl/Rex Shutterstock via ZUMA Press

Hijacked Truck Drives Into Crowd In Stockholm

Credit Image: © Ibl/Rex Shutterstock via ZUMA Press

Hijacked Truck Drives Into Crowd In Stockholm

Credit Image: © Ibl/Rex Shutterstock via ZUMA Press

Hijacked Truck Drives Into Crowd In Stockholm

Credit Image: © Ibl/Rex Shutterstock via ZUMA Press

Hijacked Truck Drives Into Crowd In Stockholm

Credit Image: © Ibl/Rex Shutterstock via ZUMA Press

Police have arrested a terror suspect who has confessed to ramming a 30-tonne truck into shoppers in Stockholm, killing at least four people.

The man went on the run after fleeing the scene following a chaotic shootout.

The ‘lightly injured’ suspect was arrested in Marsta, a suburb north of Stockholm, after members of the public contacted police to say he was acting strangely.

A police spokesman said: ‘One person has been arrested who may be connected with the incident.’

The hijacked vehicle crashed into a packed shopping centre and burst into flames. Three men jumped out from inside and opened fire before trying to stab pedestrians, witnesses said.

Two men were tackled to the ground and arrested but a third suspect went on the loose.

Police released CCTV of the man wearing a green jacket, white shoes and a grey hoodie. Police have confirmed the suspect arrested in Marsta resembles the man in the photos they released earlier.

Officers said the vehicle crashed into a group of people on the street outside a shopping centre in Klarabergsgatan after racing down six streets at about 3pm local time.

Hundreds of shoppers were seen fleeing for their lives after the articulated lorry rammed into the corner of the building.

Horrifying images of the aftermath showed blood smeared on the roads and bodies covered by blankets. Police said 15 people were injured – 9 of them seriously.

Stockholm Police said they were questioning the two men arrested in the immediate aftermath of the attack but they are not currently suspected of criminal activity.

A police spokesman said: ‘I can confirm that we have taken in two people for questioning, but that does not necessary means that they are suspects.’

Following the lorry crash, armed terrorists were seen running into Stockholm’s Central railway station and opening fire. Two people were also said to have been stabbed.

Spendrups Brewery said the truck belonged to its company and was stolen.

The truck’s driver, who has not been named, was hurt in the hijacking after trying to cling to the vehicle.

He had climbed out of the cab while delivering its cargo of beer. At least one man, wearing a balaclava, took the chance to climb in and drove off, knocking the victim over as he tried to get back on board. He was injured, but not seriously.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has laid a bouquet of red roses and lit a candle outside the Ahlens store.

The terror attack came weeks after the Westminster Bridge killer Khalid Masood used a car to murder five people before stabbing a policeman to death outside Parliament.

Last year, ISIS terrorists used trucks to kill dozens in Berlin and Nice.

After yet another terror attack on European soil, MailOnline understands:

  • Terror suspect jumped into cab of a beer lorry while its driver was making a delivery
  • Masked man sped through central Stockholm aiming at pedestrians before crashing into the Åhlens department store Klarabergsgatan. At least four people are dead and 15 injured
  • Witnesses heard shots fired and two suspects were filed being arrested in the street
  • Police have confirmed a third suspect has been arrested and admitted responsibility for the attack
  • Stockholm’s main railway station was shut down
  • The tube network was also closed amid fears fugitive is hiding underground but is now open
  • Horrifying images show streets smeared with blood and bodies covered in blankets
  • Prime Minister Stefan Lofven says the truck crash ‘is an act of terror’ and urges public to clear the streets’

 

A fire extinguisher was seen being sprayed on to the vehicle after the incident. Armed police were scrambled to the scene and stormed into the store.

Witnesses described seeing a ‘lone man’ put a balaclava over his face before he drove the drunk into crowds of people.

Nils Bengtsson told of the moment when he realised it was a terror attack. ‘I heard a loud bang and people screaming,’ he said.

‘I then saw the truck coming towards me. Then I started to think about what happened in Nice and realised that the same thing is happening here in front of me.

‘The truck was driving really fast and drove towards people at full force. I was about 100 metres [300ft] from where the truck crashed.

‘I was afraid about what I might see… but I wanted to help so I left the shop and walked out and I was met by chaos.

‘There were injured people everywhere around the truck.

‘The truck was driving really fast. I saw both people and objects flying around the vehicle.

‘People around me were in shock. Everyone was crying and screaming. It felt like being in a warzone.

‘There were several hundred people on the street. I saw at least three or four dead bodies on the street where the truck had crashed.’

Yosef Jawad said he saw an English-speaking woman collapsed on a zebra crossing and screaming: ‘My legs, my legs.’

‘Her feet hung loose and there was blood everywhere,’ he said. ‘I’m from the Middle East, you see very bad things on TV from Iraq, but this was terrible.’

Radio presenter Martin Svennigsen said he tried desperately to save those who had been crushed by the vehicle.

‘There was blood everywhere. I saw two shattered bodies and tried to save a third, but could not. I leaned back and closed his eyes,’ he told Swedish newspaper Expressen.

Mr Granroth managed to escape after running through an emergency exit.

Another witness, called Dimitris, described the panic and saw ‘at least’ two people being run over.

He said: ‘I went to the main street when a big truck came out of nowhere. I could not see if anyone was driving it but it got out of control.

‘I saw at least two being run over – I ran as fast as I could.’

A woman, called Anna, witnessed the incident and described seeing ‘hundreds of people running for their lives’.

She said: ‘I turned and ran after seeing hundreds of people running, they ran for their lives.’

Shocking video showed hundreds of terrified shoppers sprint for their lives after the truck rammed into pedestrians.

Other footage shows shoppers piling into a clothes store as the terrorist truck speeds past.

Just moments after the suspected terrorist incident, armed police wearing gas masks arrived at the scene and shut off the busy road in the centre of the capital.

Maria Nathalie was on the top floor of the store when the fire alarm was triggered.

Speaking on the phone, she told NBC: ‘People started running down the stairs when the fire alarm started.

‘When we came down to the bottom of the building all we could see was a lot of smoke.’

As the centre of the city began to clear this afternoon, the blood stains could be seen as bodies covered in blankets were left on the road.

Paramedics desperately treated injured people near the lorry after they had been caught up in the attack.

Terrified eyewitness Veronica Durango, 42, miraculously escaped and was just one metre away from being struck by the vehicle.

She told Expressen: ‘I could have died.’

The Swedish royal family has issued a statement in which they say they have learned with dismay of the events. ‘We follow the developments and our thoughts are with the victims and their families.’

Security was being beefed up across European cities in the wake of the Stockholm attack.

In Norway, one of the few European countries where police are not routinely armed, officials announced that officers in major urban areas would now carry firearms. In a tweet, Norwegian Police said officers in its largest cities and at Oslo’s airport would be carrying weapons until further notice.

Last night, as world leaders sent messages of condolence, Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf said his ‘thoughts are going out to those that were affected, and to their families’.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said that it ‘looks like we have seen a despicable act of terrorism’ which was aimed at ‘harming innocent people’.

Speaking just weeks after the Westminster terror attack, Mr Khan said that ‘we will never allow terrorists to succeed’ after a truck ploughed into people in Stockholm.

He said: ‘My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the victims and the families who have been affected by the horrific attack in Stockholm today.

‘The full details are still emerging, but once again it looks like we have seen a despicable act of terrorism aimed at harming innocent people and attacking our shared values of democracy, freedom, justice and tolerance.

‘Londoners know how it feels to suffer from senseless and cowardly terrorism. And I know we share a steely determination with the people of Stockholm that we will never allow terrorists to succeed.

‘We will never be cowed by terrorism, and today – London stands united with Stockholm and Londoners stand with the people of Stockholm.’