Several people shot dead near city centre school

Several people are dead after a shooting near a school in Sweden today.

Locals were starting to celebrate a major Spring festival when gunshots rang out near Uppsala’s Vaksala Square around 5pm local time.

Then a man was seen fleeing on an electric scooter along Hjalmar Brantingsgatan, a road that leads to it.

Described as the ‘Cambridge of Sweden’ for its large student population, Uppsala is home to around 175,000 people.

It’s a 35-minute train ride from the capital Stockholm, although rail services have been suspended while police hunt for the shooter.

Helicopters are in the air and Hjalmar Brantingsgatan has been blockaded by police. Ambulances line the street.