#dead #stabbing #political #event #Sweden #police
Swedish police said Wednesday a woman in her 60s was killed in a stabbing in daylight on the island of Gotland, where the country’s leaders gather for an annual event.
Just before 2 p.m. (1200 GMT) in the center of Visby, where a meeting of the country’s political parties is currently taking place, a man attacked a woman with a sharp weapon, according to police.
The Expressen newspaper reported that the suspect allegedly had ties to the neo-Nazi group NMR, but police declined to confirm this.
The victim received emergency medical attention at the scene before being taken to a nearby hospital.
“Unfortunately, I can report that the woman succumbed to her wounds,” said Fredrik Persson, chief of the Gotland police, at a press conference.
Persson said a 33-year-old man was arrested near the scene of the attack shortly after the incident and is currently a suspect in the murder.
“Intensive investigations are currently underway. This also includes determining the motive and background of those arrested,” said the police chief.
He added that there were a number of questions they were investigating “as it happened in a very public place with a lot of people in central Visby in the middle of the day”.
Police declined to comment on a motive, although Persson acknowledged that a political motive could not be ruled out at such an early stage of the investigation.
However, police also said they did not believe the incident was linked to Almedalen Week, an annual event attended by most of Sweden’s elite and where political parties often unveil new policies and launch campaigns.
The Swedish Association of Municipalities and Regions (SALAR) later confirmed that the victim was Ing-Marie Wieselgren, a 64-year-old psychiatrist who works as a project manager and coordinator at the organization.
“We have lost a valued and valued employee, colleagues have lost a good friend and the whole of Sweden has lost one of its strongest voices for mental health,” Carola Gunnarsson, president of SALAR, told AFP in a written comment.
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