Swedish schools to use video surveillance and random bag searches after shooting

Security to be stepped up after 10 were killed at adult education centre in Orebro

Ten people were killed when a gunman opened fire at an adult education centre in Orebro, Sweden in early February. AFP

Schools in Sweden will search children's bags, step up video surveillance and make clear that their premises are "not a public place" after a mass shooting at an adult education centre.

Ministers said schools must be ready for "serious violence" after 10 people, including two Syrian citizens, were killed in the shooting in Orebro last month. The gunman's motive has yet to be established but counter-extremism experts have been called in to help prepare for future threats.

As part of the crackdown, teachers will gain powers to search bags without warning, including at after-school clubs and adult education classes. Head teachers will be responsible for ensuring unwanted visitors "are not given access" to school buildings, using code locks and key cards if needed.

Swedish privacy law will be changed so that schools can set up camera surveillance without a special permit. The new rules will take effect next month and "contribute to making the country's schools safer", Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said.

The curriculum will also be updated so that teachers are instructed to convey a "fundamental respect for society's laws and rules" to pupils. Schools will be required to alert Swedish police to low-level criminal activity by pupils, not just serious offences.

Kindergartens and schools will be told they must have contingency plans in place and "make clear that the school is not a public place". The proposals come with 300 million Swedish crowns ($29.4 million) to step up security and go further than what an inquiry had recommended after the attack.

Mr Strommer said schools "should be a safe place where students, school staff and visitors can feel safe". He called the proposals a package of "important measures to prevent and deter violence in schools".

Victims of the Orebro shooting came from several countries and the gunman's motive is yet to be established. AFP

'Black day'

The February 4 attack was "a black day for Orebro and Sweden", said Education Minister Johan Pehrson, who described it as the worst mass shooting in Swedish history. The proposals have the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats whose votes the government needs for a majority.

They are part of a wider tough-on-crime approach by the Swedish government that includes longer prison sentences for gang members, and a move towards stripping nationality from dual citizens who "seriously threaten national security". The gunman in Orebro was an unemployed Swede.

The victims were of various ages and nationalities including two Syrian nationals and one Bosnian. One of them, Salim Iskef, was a former refugee from Aleppo who fled Syria a decade ago after ISIS militants killed his father.

Detectives were investigating whether the attacker had connections to the school. Swedish television published footage in which shots were heard someone could be heard shouting "you will leave Europe".

Police said several long-barrelled weapons were found when the suspect's body was discovered, having apparently turned one of his weapons on himself at the Riksberga adult education centre. He had a licence for four weapons.