Israel embassy in Sweden target of shooting, no-one hurt: Police
Statement comes as police in Denmark say they are investigating two blasts
STOCKHOLM: Swedish police said on Wednesday that a shooting had occurred at the Israeli embassy Stockholm the day before, adding that no-one was hurt and that an investigation had been opened.
Police said they were alerted that “a bang” had been heard on a street near the embassy in central Stockholm just before 6pm (1600 GMT) on Tuesday.
“We’ve made finds that indicate a shooting at Israel’s embassy, but we don’t want to disclose exactly what finds have been made since there is an ongoing investigation,” Rebecca Landberg, press officer at Stockholm police, told AFP.
The statement came as police in neighbouring Denmark said they were investigating two blasts that went off overnight in the “immediate proximity” to the Israeli embassy, also without injuring anyone.
Swedish police said in a statement that information indicated the embassy building had been hit by shots.
Landberg added that no-one was injured and that an investigation has been opened into an aggravated weapons offence, endangerment of others and unlawful threats.
Police had made no arrests, but Landberg said that the area was under heavy surveillance by cameras and police were actively gathering and analysing material.
The shooting came as tensions in the Middle East are spiralling, with Iran firing a barrage of missiles at Israeli territory and Israel vowing to make Iran “pay” for the attack.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, several incidents apparently targeting Israeli interests in Sweden have been reported.
In February, police found a grenade on the grounds of the Israeli embassy compound, which the ambassador said was an attempted attack.
In mid-May, gunshots were fired outside the Israeli embassy, which prompted the country to boost security measures around Israeli interests and Jewish community institutions.
The Scandinavian country’s intelligence agency Sapo said in late May that Iran was recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to commit “acts of violence” against Israeli and other interests in Sweden - a claim Iran denied.
The Nordic country has also reported an increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes since the war in Gaza started.
In early June, police said they had found a “suspected explosive object” outside the offices of Israeli military technology firm Elbit Systems, known for its unmanned aerial systems, in Sweden’s second-largest city Gothenburg.