2017 Stockholm truck attack
On 7 April 2017, a vehicle-ramming Islamist terrorist attack took place in central Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. A hijacked truck was deliberately driven into crowds along Drottninggatan (Queen Street) before being crashed into an Åhléns department store. Five people, the youngest an 11-year-old girl, were killed. 14 others were seriously injured.
| 2017 Stockholm truck attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of Islamic terrorism in Europe | |
The truck used in the attack (right) being removed from the scene | |
The path of the attack | |
| Location | Drottninggatan, Stockholm |
| Coordinates | 59°19′58″N 018°03′44″E |
| Date | 7 April 2017 c. 14:53 CEST (UTC+2) |
| Target | Civilian pedestrians |
Attack type | Vehicle-ramming attack, mass murder |
| Weapons | Hijacked Mercedes-Benz Actros |
| Deaths | 5 |
| Injured | 14 serious |
| Perpetrator | Rakhmat Akilov |
| Motive | Islamic terrorism Protest against Swedish government military training in Iraq |
The perpetrator was Rakhmat Akilov, a 39-year-old rejected asylum seeker and a citizen of Uzbekistan, who was apprehended several hours later. He had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State in a self-recorded video the day before the attack, and Uzbek authorities alleged that he had joined the group. Akilov was convicted of murder and terrorist crimes, and sentenced to life in prison and, if released, deportation to Uzbekistan and lifetime expulsion from Sweden.