A 60-year-old man has died in the Swedish capital Stockholm after he bent over and picked up on object on the ground outside a subway station, which then exploded.
A 45-year-old woman was also injured in the blast, suffering minor wounds to her face and legs. Swedish police say they do not believe the incident is terror-related at this time.
Man dies after picking up unknown explosive outside Stockholm subway station https://t.co/J17MMmEPWV
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) January 7, 2018
Two Swedish tabloids – Aftonbladet and Expressen – reported that the device in question was a hand grenade. A rescue official told broadcaster SVT that “someone has used some type of explosive material” in constructing whatever the object was.
After initially denying reports that the device was a hand grenade, the police now say that they suspect that’s precisely what it was. “We’re suspecting that it’s a hand grenade of some sort,” said Lars Alvarsjo, chief of Stockholm’s southern police district.
Police are currently reviewing security footage of Varby Gard subway station in the suburb of Huddinge to determine what actually happened.
Though it is unclear what happened or who was targeted by the explosion, it invites comparisons to the string of explosions around Sweden late last year, including a firebomb that was tossed into a bar in Angelholm. Police attributed those bombings to “criminal circles”.
That’s not unprecedented – according to Swedish news website The Local, bombings are a tool of violence and intimidation among some criminal gangs in Sweden’s south:
Explosives are often used by organized crime rings in Sweden, especially in the south where settling of scores and intimidation are frequent among drug traffickers. Police and judges are also regularly targeted.
We’ll keep you posted as more info emerges.
