Swedish Police Investigate Shooting at Israeli Embassy in Stockholm

Swedish police confirmed a shooting occurred at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, with no injuries reported. The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, following Iran’s missile barrage at Israeli territory and Israel’s vow to retaliate.

According to police, the shooting was reported on Tuesday evening, around 6:00 pm (1600 GMT), with witnesses describing a “bang” being heard near the embassy in central Stockholm. Police were alerted and launched an investigation, with Rebecca Landberg, press officer at Stockholm police, stating that “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.”

The investigation is ongoing, with police gathering and analyzing material from the scene. No arrests have been made, but the area is under heavy surveillance. The shooting is the latest in a series of incidents targeting Israeli interests in Sweden, which have been reported since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023.

In recent months, Sweden has seen a surge in anti-Semitic hate crimes, with the Scandinavian country’s intelligence agency Sapo claiming that Iran is recruiting Swedish criminal gangs to commit “acts of violence” against Israeli and other interests in Sweden. Iran has denied these allegations.

The Israeli embassy in Stockholm has been the target of several incidents in recent months, including a grenade found on the embassy compound in February and gunshots fired outside the embassy in mid-May. In early June, police found a “suspected explosive object” outside the offices of Israeli military technology firm Elbit Systems in Gothenburg.

The Swedish police investigation is ongoing, with authorities working to determine the motive behind the shooting and whether it is linked to the recent tensions in the Middle East.