2 stabbed to death at Ikea store in Sweden

Two shoppers were stabbed to death in an attack at an Ikea store in the central Swedish town of Vasteras, over which a man has been arrested, police said Monday.

Several hours after the attack, in which a third shopper was seriously injured, police had yet to release any details about the suspected attacker's identity or motive.

There was no indication the attack was terrorism-related. Swedish intelligence agency Sapo told AFP it had not been called in on the case.

The suspect was not known to police and did not have a criminal record, a police spokesman for the Vastmanland region, Per Stromback, told the regional VLT paper.

"Police received a call about wounded people at Ikea ... around 1:00 pm. A man and a woman with stab wounds were found at the scene, they later died of their injuries. Another person is seriously injured. One man has been arrested suspected of murder," a police statement said.

A shaky video clip filmed by a passerby that was published on VLT's website showed police arresting the suspect at a bus stop outside Ikea.
"I saw police come running toward a man standing and waiting at the bus stop. The arrest happened really fast, the man didn't put up a fight but he was loud. He was maybe 30 or 40 years old," Fredrik Pikkuaho, who filmed the clip, told VLT.

Police can be see pushing the man to the ground but the suspect's face cannot be seen clearly.

- Victims were 'ordinary shoppers' -

Police gave no information about the identities of the victims, but were due to hold a press conference later Monday.

VLT quoted store manager Mattias Johansson as saying the attack took place in the store's kitchenware section and that the victims were were "ordinary shoppers".

A man aged 35, who sustained serious injuries, was rushed to a local hospital where he immediately underwent surgery, Eva Lindahl, a spokeswoman for the regional health authority, told AFP.

Ikea evacuated and closed the store on Monday, and it was not immediately known when it would reopen.

Ikea Group spokeswoman Martina Smedberg told AFP "there was no threat against the store."
"We have no idea what the motive is," she added.

She said she was unaware of "any other incidents of this nature" at Ikea stores, calling it "extremely unusual and serious."

Stromback, the police spokesman, told VLT that the authorities had not yet determined whether the attack was pre-meditated or spontaneous.

"We don't know, the investigation will have to establish that," he said, asking for witnesses to come forward with any information.

An industrial town with 110,000 inhabitants, Vasteras is Sweden's fifth-biggest city.

Police boosted security at other retailers in the area after the attack, to reassure shoppers, local media reported.