Potential Bombing After ‘Powerful’ Explosion At Swedish Police Station

A police station in the Swedish city of Staffanstorp was targetted by an explosive device, with witnesses describing the blast as loud and powerful.

The explosion occurred in the early hours of Monday morning and caused damage to the main door of the building, Swedish newspaper Expressen reports.

The extent of the blast was limited to the entryway, and Swedish National Bomb Gaurd technicians arrived on the scene soon after the explosion occurred. Authorities have so far not released many details on the nature of the blast or what type of device may have been used.

Patrik Ahrlin, the local police area manager in Staffanstorp, commented on the incident, saying: “We are taking a very serious look at what happened and are grateful that no one was physically injured.”

Sweden: Bombings and Explosions Up 45 Percent in 2019 https://t.co/cmnuHdChzq

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Sofie Kropp, 35, lives in the area in which the explosion occurred and described it as a “big bang”. Ms Kropp added: “I have lived here for four years and always felt safe because the police have their garage down here. But now it suddenly feels unsafe.”

She went on to note that the police station was, in her mind, an unlikely target as it is only open two days a week and officers are “barely here”.

Swedish broadcaster SVT has claimed that the explosion may have been caught on CCTV and that police are currently looking into local video footage. Christer Stålhandske of the municipal police acknowledged that officers had viewed footage but did not go into details.

The potential attack would not be the first against a police station in Sweden in recent years. The most notable incident occurred in October 2017 when a heavy explosive destroyed the front facade of a police station in Helsingborg.

‘Attack Against Our Democracy’: Bombing of Swedish Police Station ‘May Be Terror’
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Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven commented on the attack, stating: “An attack on the police is, in the long run, an attack on our democracy.”

Explosions have dramatically increased in Sweden, with newspaper Dagens Nyheter claiming an increase of up to 45 per cent from January to July of this year compared to the same period in 2018.