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Revision as of 18:56, 31 August 2015 by E.M.Gregory (talk | contribs) (→Impact: expand, source)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| 2015 Ikea murders | |
|---|---|
| Location | Västerås, Sweden |
| Deaths | 2 |
On August 10, 2015 two people were stabbed to death in an IKEA store in the Erikslund Shopping Center in Västerås, Sweden in what have been described as an apparent random attack. The stabbing attracted world-wide attention.
Attack
The perpetrator reportedly took a knife from the kitchenware department at IKEA in Västerås, and appears to have attacked two random victims; a 55-year-old woman and her 28-year-old son, on visit from an village outside of Skellefteå in northern Sweden. The attack was not caught on any surveillance camera, but according to eyewitness accounts made to the Aftonbladet newspaper, the attacker stabbed the 55-year-old woman in her stomach. Her son died from wounds inflicted by the perpetrator when he tried to fend off the attack. The perpetrator then proceeded to stab himself in the stomach. The police were initially silent about the case, which is standard during criminal investigations in Sweden to prevent potential contamination of evidence, such as witness testimony. Information usually only becomes public after indictment, when the preliminary investigation is finished. A spokesperson for the police did however say that incident did not appear to have been an act of terrorism, and it did not have an obvious political or religious motive.
Perpetrator
The perpetrator, a 36-year-old man from Eritrea, confessed to the murder three days after the attack. According to sources at the temporary accommodation he was staying at, the main suspect had lived in Italy two to three months prior to his arrival in Sweden, where he had worked as a fisherman. He had been denied asylum in Sweden just hours before the attack, and was scheduled for deportation back to Italy, where he had acquired a residence permit. His 23-year-old companion, also Eritrean, was initially held on accessory to murder, but later released for lack of evidence.
Impact
The Västerås Ikea temporarily suspended the sale of knives out of concern for the staff.
Sewden Democrats MP Björn Söder was criticized for a Facebook post in which he referenced the Ikea murders and called on Swedes to consign their long-standing "sjuklöverns" approach to immigration to the "trash heap."
References
- ^ Lundberg, Angelica; Malmgren, Kim; Hellberg, Magnus; Reinholdsson, Hanna; Lennander, Fredrik (10 August 2015). "Två dödade i en knivattack på Ikea". Expressen (in Swedish). Bonnier. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- Edström, Anders; Enbäck, Johanna (14 August 2015). "Hans film från gripandet sprids världen över" (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ Miller, Michael (11 August 2015). "'Mad' stabbings turn Ikea store in Sweden into a house of horrors". Washington Post. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- "Skellefteborna som föll offer för knivattacken på Ikea". Norran. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- Hellerud, Emil (11 August 2015). "Swedish police: 2 arrested in IKEA stabbings were asylum-seekers". CNN. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- Eriksson, Niklas; Aschberg, Richard (12 August 2015). "Nya uppgifter om Ikeamorden: Så gick attacken till". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- Mederyd Hårdh, Martin (13 August 2015). ""Rykten väcker förskräckliga krafter till liv"". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Bonnier Group. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- "Sekretess under pågående förundersökning" (in Swedish). Swedish Prosecution Authority. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- "Eritrean Suspect Confesses to Ikea Stabbing in Sweden". ABC News. AP. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ "Suspect in Ikea knife attack was Eritrean, due to be deported". DW. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- Hellberg, Magnus; Lennander, Fredrik; Ronge, Johan (13 August 2015). "23-åringen släpps fri för Ikea-morden". Expressen (in Swedish). Bonnier Group. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- "Ikea stoppar sin knivförsäljning". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 11 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- "Björn Söder kritiseras för inlägg om Ikeadådet". DN.se. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.