Stockholm terror attack – Arrested terror suspect was KNOWN to cops before he ‘deliberately ploughed into kids and shoppers’ in hijacked bomb-laden beer truck
A SUSPECTED terrorist deliberately drove at young children, sending prams flying as a stolen beer truck sped through a crowded shopping street in Stockholm, witnesses have said.
Authorities have now confirmed that the suspect, a 39-year-old Uzbekistan-born man, had been on their radar for some time before the truck was high-jacked and used to plough through terrified crowds, killing four people and leaving 15 people, including two children, injured.
Local media reported that a homemade bomb had been found in the 30-tonne truck with the head of Sweden's National Police Dan Eliason confirming a "bomb or incendiary object" had been discovered.
Mr Eliason said: "We have found something in the truck, in the driver's seat, a technical device that should not be there.
"I cannot say at this stage that this is a bomb or some sort of flammable material.
"Whether it is a classic bomb or a fire device or something else is subject to technical analysis."
The vehicle was last night towed from the scene, with photographs showing the charred front after it crashed into the high end department store.
As emergency services work today to clean the streets left bloodied by the attack, the head of Sweden's domestic intelligence agency Anders Thornberg revealed authorities had previously been aware of the man, saying: "The suspect didn't appear in our recent files but he earlier has been in our files."
Authorities said they were confident they had nabbed the right man, with reports surfacing from Sweden that the man, a father-of-four, had posted jihadist propaganda on his Facebook page and had "liked" images of people injured in the Boston Marathon explosion in April 2013.
Authorities added man arrested was the driver of the vehicle, and matched CCTV images released in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
They said he may have been injured in the attack with the bomb inside the truck possibly going off while he was still inside the vehicle.
Local media Aftonbladet reported the man was arrested after witnesses spotted him, recognising him from the photograph released by authorities.
Mr Thornberg said the security services are working with other nations' security agencies on the matter, but declined to elaborate.
He said that investigators were unsure whether others had been involved in the attack, saying they could not exclude that fear.
Photographs showed another man being led away by authorities but police have not confirmed any further arrests.
Sweden's security service said this morning they have launched a broad investigation into the incident, saying: "We have been working every minute since the incident are working tirelessly.
"The focus is now both to find out who the perpetrators are and to ensure that no more attacks occur."
Eyewitnesses yesterday tearfully recounted the attack, saying the truck had travelled for more than 500 yards along a main pedestrian street known as the Drottninggatan before it smashed into a crowd outside the upmarket Ahlens department store, killing four and leaving 15 injured, including ten seriously.
It is believed the attacker jumped from the hijacked beer lorry after the attack and fled through the carnage, with the Prime Minister Stefan Lofven saying all signs pointed to a "deliberate" terror attack on Sweden's capital.
He has since announced plans to strengthen border controls in the wake of the crash that happened just before 3pm local time yesterday.
Flags are today at half mast as devastated crowds have descended to lay flowers at the bloody scene.
The horrific scenes in Stockholm come just weeks after five innocent victims were killed when a car ploughed through crowds on Westminster Bridge, outside the Houses of Parliament.
Investigators will now investigate if suspects have links to terror groups, including ISIS.
Details around how the terror attack unfolded have emerged with it understood that the beer truck used in the attack had been stolen as its original driver was unloading it at a restaurant.
Earlier two people were taken in for questioning in connection with the deadly attack, although it has not confirmed if they are suspects.
Senior cop Mats Lofving has warned people to be cautious.
He said: "We don't know whether this incident is isolated or whether we can expect more.
"We have police positioned at several strategic places with a particular risk threat."
Initial reports suggested at least five people were killed in the attack but as more information emerged from local authorities the death toll was reduced to four.
Stockholm City Council has said 15 people, including children, were treated in hospital.
A Downing Street spokeswoman today said: "The Prime Minister called Prime Minister Lofven of Sweden today, to express her condolences and those of the British people for the terrible attack that took place in Stockholm yesterday.
"She was clear that the UK stands firmly by Sweden's side, and they agreed on the importance of working together to tackle these threats, which we all continue to face."
Floral tributes have been placed at the site, with Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria breaking down in tears as she visited the bloodied streets.
She said: "Swedish society is built on tremendous trust and community. We will go stronger out of this in some way."
Horrified witnesses said a pram was hurled into the air as desperate pedestrians ran for their lives as the lorry crushed everything in its path.
Another told of bodies and blood "everywhere" and even a dead dog with its owner screaming beside it.
Local news site Expressen reported that the driver of the truck escaped the scene, with witnesses describing a "lone man" who put a balaclava over his face before he drove the truck into crowds of people.
Sky News reported that the suspect is believed to have run towards the underground station as smoke billowed out of the crashed vehicle.
A witness, Anna told local Aftonbladet news that she saw "hundreds" of people running for their lives.
She said: "I saw hundreds of people run, they ran for their lives. I turned and ran as well."
On Friday evening Prime Minister Lofven laid a bouquet of red roses and lit a candle near the scene of the atrocity.
He had earlier said the country was in a "state of shock" adding "the aim of terrorism is to undermine democracy. But such a goal will never be achieved in Sweden."
Another witness Dimitris told Aftonbladet news: "I went to the main street when a big truck came out of nowhere.
"I could not see if anyone was driving it but it got out of control. I saw at least two being run over.
"I ran as fast as I could."
Annevi Peterson described people lying dead and injured in the street with blood everywhere.
She told BBC News: "I heard the noise, I heard the screams, I saw the people.
"There was, just outside the store, there was a dead dog, the owner screaming, there was a lady lying with a severed foot. "There was blood everywhere, there were bodies on the ground everywhere.
"There was a sense of panic, people standing by their loved ones but also people running away."
Pools of blood were visible on the street along with bodies covered in blankets.
Paramedics could also be seen tending to the injured near the truck.
Jan Granroth told Aftonbladet: "We stood inside a shoe store and heard something ... and then people started to scream. "I looked out of the store and saw a big truck."
In the aftermath of the attack images of a number of people being held down by police officers emerged from the scene - but cops have confirmed only one arrest.
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Footage of the scene showed streams of people hurry down the main street, while video footage revealed terrified shoppers dived into shops seconds before the truck raced past.
Photographer Annevi Petersson said: "I was in a store at Drootninggatan where the truck passed by. Had just stepped into a fitting room, heard the noise and the screams, ran out and people laying on the street.
"I saw a woman had a partly severed foot. People screaming in panic, others ran. I saw people laying bloody on the street and got out of there."
People have since started to open up their homes and businesses to those trapped by the terror attack, using the message #openstockholm on social media.
Shots were also reported near Fridhemsplan, about 20 minutes from the crash site, but no links with this and the attack have emerged.
Chaotic scenes: Brit tourist describes the terrifying 'terror' attack
A British tourist on holiday in Stockholm has described seeing "lifeless bodies" covered with towels at the scene of the suspected terror attack.
Reporter Harriet Rose-Gale, 26, was eating lunch metres away from the spot where a truck ploughed into pedestrians in the Swedish capital.
Harriet, of Marlborough, Wilts., described scenes of panic as dozens of emergency vehicles flooded the streets.
She said: "We were literally 100 or 200m away having lunch when a couple of police cars went by followed by about 20-30 emergency vehicles continuously.
"I walked up the road and we could just see a lorry, a truck, and what we could only assume was a lifeless body in front of it.
"It had a peach or orange towel covering it and there was another body with a white sheet in the middle of the road.
"There were armed police running past us and shouting in Swedish. I don't know what they were saying.
"The police officer said to just keep walking. They are sending people away from the scene.
"It seems to be a shopping street. There are lots of restaurants and shops near it. It's right next to our hotel, which is where we were walking.
"We were trying to find out what happened but there was so much panic because of what's just happened in London. Everyone is on high alert.
"There were crowds of people flooding along the street to get away and lots of police officers with guns and lots and lots of sirens.
"There has been a few people walking past with blankets and there is a big cordon around the street.
"Everyone was just trying to figure out what was going on.
"I'm not sure what we are going to do but I feel quite safe. There are lots of police around and they are diverting people away from the area."
Yesterday, London's Mayor Saiq Khan, who had just weeks ago spoken out against terror attacks in the wake of the Westminster horror, said: "My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the victims and the families who have been affected by the horrific attack in Stockholm (on Friday).
"The full details are still emerging, but once again it looks like we have seen a despicable act of terrorism aimed at harming innocent people and attacking our shared values of democracy, freedom, justice and tolerance.
"Londoners know how it feels to suffer from senseless and cowardly terrorism. And I know we share a steely determination with the people of Stockholm that we will never allow terrorists to succeed.
"We will never be cowed by terrorism, and today - London stands united with Stockholm and Londoners stand with the people of Stockholm."
It has been announced that police in Norway's largest cities and at Oslo's airport will be carrying weapons until further notice.
Police officers in Norway, which borders Sweden, do not usually carry guns.
In Finland, police increased patrols in the capital Helsinki.
The response follows a series of attacks in Europe by terrorists using vehicles as weapons.
The worst attack was last year in France on the Bastille Day national holiday of July 14, in which a man rammed a truck into a crowd in the Mediterranean resort of Nice, killing 86 people.
He was shot dead by police, and the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.
Last month, Khalid Masood, a 52-year-old convert to Islam known to British security services, drove a car at high speed into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge before launching a frenzied knife attack on a policeman guarding the parliament building.
The incident killed five people, while Masood himself was shot dead by police.
Last November, eleven were injured when Abdul Razak Ali Artan, 18, drove into pedestrians at Ohio State University and stabbed people before a cop shot him dead.
Just one month later, a man hijacked a truck and slammed into shoppers at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people.
That attacker was shot dead by police in Milan four days later, and the rampage was claimed by the ISIS.