Police investigate shooting near Israeli target in Sweden; no injuries reported

Swedish police said Thursday they were investigating a shooting near an Israeli target in the city of Gothenburg, which the national broadcaster said was a unit of Israeli defense electronics company Elbit Systems.

Police said in a statement that they had arrested a young suspect at the scene and launched an investigation into suspected attempted murder and serious weapons offences.

They did not identify the company, but Tobias Wennberg, CEO of Elbit Systems Sweden, told Reuters that a serious incident had occurred outside the company’s premises on Thursday, adding that no one was injured in the incident.

“Elbit Systems Sweden has no further knowledge of the incident. Our operations continue as usual,” he said in an email.

A police spokesman said there was only one suspect, and that investigators were not aware of any concrete threats against other Israeli targets in the city on Sweden’s west coast.

The suspect is younger than 15 years old, public broadcaster SVT and other Swedish media reported, without identifying their sources.

The Israeli embassy in Stockholm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Swedish police said in May they had stepped up security around Israeli and Jewish interests in the Scandinavian country after officers on patrol heard suspected gunshots near the Israeli embassy in Stockholm.

Sweden has suffered an epidemic of gun violence in recent years, caused by criminal gangs feuding over drugs and other illegal activities.