Police needed to use force to arrest the men and prevent them from entering the hospital.

Police had made their way to the hospital after staff at Östra informed them that a man matching the victim’s description had arrived there seeking treatment.

“Five men arrived in a group after he had come inside. But our janitor acted according to the rulebook and called the police. The police were here and there was a pretty big melée outside the emergency ward,” said hospital spokeswoman Ann-Christine Andersson.

Police remained unsure as to the identities of the attackers and their victim by 5pm.

The drama began when a man was injured in a shooting incident at a restaurant at Wieselgensplatsen in Gothenburg earlier in the afternnon.

Witnesses reported that the victim and his attackers had both fled the scene by the time police arrived at the restaurant.

According to police spokesman Thomas Fuxborg, a number of men entered the restaurant at the same time.

“They fired an unknown number of shots. One person was hit,” he told TT.