iStock/Thinkstock(STOCKHOLM) — At least four people were killed and more than a dozen wounded after a stolen truck plowed into a crowded street in Stockholm, according to Swedish authorities.
Rebecca Grunditz of the Stockholm County Council told ABC News that a total of 15 people have been hospitalized, with nine in serious condition. Two children are among the wounded, Grunditz said.
The Swedish Security Service said it is treating the incident as a terrorist attack.
Earlier Friday, Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said one person had been arrested.
“The government is doing everything in its power to find out what has happened,” Lofven said in a televised statement. “We are advising the public to be careful and to listen to police broadcasts.”
Stockholm police initially disputed the prime minister’s remarks but later confirmed to ABC News that an individual who was involved in the incident had been detained.
Several people have been placed under surveillance over the last few hours, the prime minster said.
“We are determined to never let the values that we treasure — democracy, human rights and freedom — to be undermined,” Lofven said. “Terrorists can never defeat Sweden, never.”
Police initially responded to reports of a truck driving over people on Drottninggatan Street near the upscale department store Åhlens in central Stockholm. The attack occurred around 2:53 p.m. local time, police said.
According to police, terrorism can’t be ruled out given similar incidents that have happened elsewhere in Europe in recent months.
“We had no indication that this would happen, but it was not unexpected,” Stockholm regional police chief Ulf Johansson said at a press conference Friday.
Police said it’s unclear whether this was an isolated attack or if it’s related to any other incidents.
Authorities are working on a national level and using international resources to track down the culprit or culprits, police said.
A spokesperson for Spendrups brewery in Sweden confirmed to ABC News that the truck used in the attack was stolen from them as it was parked on Drottninggatan — the same street where the attacker drove into a crowd.
“We can confirm that the truck was stolen during an unload of products,” Rose-Marie Hertzman, the press officer at Spendstrups, told ABC News. “The driver was just finishing the unload and a man came running up and hijacked the car and drove away.”
Hertzman added, “Our driver is not hurt and we are of course extremely sad to hear about the injuries and the two people confirmed dead.”
The Spendrups truck was distributing soft drinks, beer and water to restaurants and shops before it was stolen around 2:53 p.m., according to Hertzman. The driver was unloading the truck from the rear and tried to stop the hijacker before the masked man attempted to run him over, she said. He then plowed the truck into a street crowded with people before crashing into Swedish department store Åhlens, Lofven said.
Video posted to Instagram shows firefighters spraying foam on the truck as it protrudes from the corner of the department store.
Police said the truck is now in their possession and they are interviewing the original driver of the vehicle. The driver is not injured, but is in shock, Hertzman said.
Swedish intelligence officials are working to identify the person or people behind the attack.
Police said Stockholm’s Central Station is closed and are urging people to avoid the area around Sergels torg, a public square.
In a statement, U.S. Department of State acting spokesperson Mark Toner said the U.S. “strongly condemns” the attack and offered his condolences to the families of victims.
“Attacks like this are intended to sow the seeds of fear, but in fact they only strengthen our shared resolve to combat terrorism around the world,” Toner said. “The United States and Sweden are committed partners in this fight, and we stand ready to offer any assistance Sweden might require in investigating this brutal and senseless attack.”
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