Violent, often fatal rampages are increasingly being carried out by extremists and mentally unstable individuals in Sweden. However, those who possess the right level of vigilance, training, and technical tools can protect themselves from severe violence, according to Swedish police. However, the police in Sweden lack the necessary resources to address this issue.

“Generally, we say: Be prepared, but don’t be afraid. You need to pay a little more attention to yourself and your surroundings,” Police Chief Tomas Koppelman Hellgren said, sending this message to the Swedish public. In Sweden, the threat of terrorism posed by Islamist extremists is steadily rising, clashes between armed gangs are frequent, and an increasing number of mentally ill individuals are living within the community, rather than in care centres – highlights the Swedish Samnytt news portal.

The outlet reminds its readers that in mid-December, a woman in her 30s was brutally murdered at a bus stop in Märsta, a town north of Stockholm.

The perpetrator selected his female vicim at random, with no other motive than to kill someone.

A week ago, in Botkyrka, a town south of Stockholm, a 60-year-old woman working in a supermarket was fatally stabbed by a 25-year-old man. Again, there was no other explanation, other than that the perpetrator was mentally ill. Increasingly, there are also reports of mass shootings in public places, with innocent people being caught in the line of fire.

Constant vigilance and preparation are key

However, one can defend oneself against violent rampages and terrorist attacks in public places, as long as they are properly prepared and alert when in public spaces, such as schools, hospitals, and other places, Tomas Koppelman Hellgren, the regional incident commander of Stockholm’s operational unit – specialising in lethal violence – told the Swedish Epoch Times in an interview. He explained that everyone must have an action plan.

“You need to be prepared. At the police, we emphasise building resilience. For example, in schools, we train staff for emergencies and increase their awareness on the subject. Then, we help them create their own action plans,” he explained. According to Koppelman Hellgren, both students and teachers can receive assistance in developing such plans from the police and other entities, such as Sweden’s Civil Emergency Agency (MSB), the Centre for Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), and social services. These organisations

provide assistance in acclimatising citizens to living in an increasingly unpredictable society marked by violence.

In addition to common precautions, such as always keeping doors locked, police also recommend that everyone equip themselves with an alarm app, such as Cosafe. Koppelman Hellgren, who has worked as a police officer for 43 years, stated that

the Islamist terrorist attacks committed in central Stockholm between 2010 and 2017 marked a “turning point” between the old, safe Sweden and the new, unsafe Sweden.

He also noted that

the police currently lack the necessary resources to protect citizens from crazy, violent incidents and terrorist attacks, placing great responsibility on the individual to take protective measures when out in public.

We often say: „Be prepared, and don’t be afraid,” because we won’t be able to eradicate or defeat this kind of lethal violence, so we need to learn to manage it, he said.

According to the police expert specialising in lethal violence, luck merely plays a 5-percent role in surviving a violent rampage or terrorist attack, while 85 percent is determined by what he calls the „mindset” – the correct, alert mental attitude. The remaining 10 percent is determined by defensive training. “In the vast majority of cases, it’s about being in ‘escape mode’, constantly being ready to flee and hide,” Koppelman Hellgren explains. In the past, for example, teachers and students in schools weren’t prepared for this. Today, “there is a completely different level of resilience and awareness,” he says. However, he also adds that

in the society Sweden has become, survival can never be fully guaranteed, either in schools or elsewhere in the public sector.