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Man hopitalized in grocery store axe attack

One person was hospitalized on Wednesday after a man suddenly began swinging an axe inside a grocery store in Östersund in northern Sweden.

Published: 27 August 2008 13:07 CEST

Without warning, the axe-wielding man went on a rampage inside the Ica Kvantum grocery store located in the Odensala neighbourhood.

“An older man received at least one blow from an axe, a blow which hit him in the head. The man has been taken by ambulance to Östersund hospital. We don’t yet know how serious the man’s injuries are,” said Jämtland police spokesperson Ann-Christin Johnsen to the TT news agency.

The attacker was quickly overpowered by onlookers, staff, and guards who had been summoned to the scene.

During the scuffle, at least one other person received minor injuries.

The man was then arrested by police.

The Östersunds-Posten newspaper reports that police believe the man suffers from a mental illness and that he was attempting to rob the store at the time of the attack.

Store workers who witnessed the incident were in a state of shock and are expected to receive help during the day to recover from the dramatic assault.

The store’s management has called in extra staff in order to keep the store open for the remainder of the day.

Over a thousand people join protest against Stockholm attack

The demonstration, which was organised by the Left Party and the Green Party together with Expo, an anti-extremist magazine, was held outside the Moment theatre, where masked assailants attacked a lecture organised by the two parties on Wednesday.

In the attack, the assailants – described as Nazis by Expo – let off smoke grenades and assaulted several people, three of whom were hospitalised.

“Let’s say it how it is: this was a terror attack and that is something we can never accept,” said Amanda Lind, who is expected to be voted in as the joint leader of the Green Party on Sunday.

She said that those who had attended the lecture had hoped to swap ideas about how to combat racism.

“Instead they had to experience smoke bombs, assault and were forced to think ‘have they got weapons’?. The goal of this attack was to use violence to generate fear and silence people,” she said.

EXPLAINED: What we know about the attack on a Swedish anti-fascist meeting

More than a thousand people gathered to protest the attack on a theatre in Gubbängen, Stockholm. Photo: Oscar Olsson/TT

Nooshi Dadgostar, leader of the Left Party, said that that society needed to stand up against this type of extreme-right violence.

“We’re here today to show that which should be obvious: we will not give up, we will stand up for ourselves, and we shall never be silenced by racist violence,” said said.

Sofia Zwahlen, one of the protesters at the demonstration, told the DN newspaper that it felt positive that so many had turned up to show their opposition to the attacks.

“It feels extremely good that there’s been this reaction, that we are coming together. I’m always a little worried about going to this sort of demonstration. But this feels safe.”

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