2015 Västerås IKEA attack

Knife attack in Västmanland, SwedenOctober 2026 Abraham Ukbagabir CCTV.jpeg Ukbagabir grabbing the knife used in the attack Västerås, Sweden Swedish-looking people 59 36 32.9 N 16 27 16.9 E region:SE_type:landmark inline,title 2015 08 10 y Stabbing 2 1 (the perpetrator) Abraham Ukbagabir IKEA Knife Revenge for rejected asylum application On 10 August 2015, mother-son pair Carola Herlin and Emil Herlin were murdered at an IKEA store at the Erikslund Shopping Center in Västerås, Sweden. The perpetrator, Abraham Ukbagabir, was found with self-inflicted injuries in a nearby store section. Ukbagabir was convicted of two first degree murder charges and sentenced to life in prison in December 2015. As Ukbagabir was an Eritrean immigrant and later stated he had acted out of vengeance due to his denied asylum request, the stabbing received attention amidst the 2015 European migrant crisis.Lundberg Angelica Malmgren Kim Hellberg Magnus Reinholdsson Hanna Lennander Fredrik Två dödade i en knivattack på Ikea http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/ikea-varuhus-i-vasteras-avsparrat/ 24 August 2015 Expressen Bonnier 10 August 2015 SwedishEdström Anders Enbäck Johanna Hans film från gripandet sprids världen över http://vlt.se/nyheter/vasteras/1.3108491-hans-film-fran-gripandet-sprids-varlden-over Vestmanlands Läns Tidning 24 August 2015 14 August 2015 SwedishMarch 2026 InternetArchiveBot Miller Michael In Sweden's Ikea attack, two migrants, two slayings and rampant fear of refugees https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/09/29/in-swedens-ikea-attack-two-migrants-two-murders-and-rampant-fear-of-refugees/ 30 September 2015 The Washington Post 29 September 2015 Attack A few hours before the attack, the perpetrator, Abraham Ukbagabir, a 36-year-old Eritrean Christian, travelled from his refugee accommodations in Arboga to Västerås, accompanied by a 23-year-old fellow Eritrean resident. In Västerås, Ukbagabir first attended an appointment with the Swedish Migration Agency regarding a deportation order he received on 27 July, which he was informed was still in place. Afterwards, Ukbagabir told his friend that he wanted to go shopping at a local IKEA.Eriksson Niklas 2015-08-13 ”Han blev lika chockad som alla andra” https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/L0am1P Aftonbladet sv Inside the IKEA, Ukbagabir took a knife from the kitchenware department and began looking for Swedish-looking people to attack.21 October 2015 Mördarens val av offer: "De såg svenska ut" Vestmanlands Läns Tidning https://www.vlt.se/2015-10-21/mordarens-val-av-offer-de-sag-svenska-ut 11 September 2013 He attacked Carola Herlin (55) and her son Emil Herlin (28), who were visiting from Skellefteå.Skellefteborna som föll offer för knivattacken på Ikea http://norran.se/nyheter/blaljus-nyheter/skellefteborna-som-dodades-vid-knivdadet-pa-ikea-436316 23 August 2015 Norran 11 August 2015Hellerud Emil Swedish police: 2 arrested in IKEA stabbings were asylum-seekers http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/11/europe/sweden-ikea-stabbings/ 23 August 2015 CNN 11 August 2015 The attack was not caught on any surveillance cameras, but according to eyewitness accounts made to the Aftonbladet newspaper, the attacker stabbed the mother in her stomach. Her son died from wounds inflicted by the perpetrator when he tried to fend off the attack. The perpetrator then proceeded to stab himself in the stomach.Eriksson Niklas Aschberg Richard Nya uppgifter om Ikeamorden: Så gick attacken till http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article21246519.ab 24 August 2015 Aftonbladet 12 August 2015 Swedish His 23-year-old companion was initially arrested as an accessory to murder, but later released.Hellberg Magnus Lennander Fredrik Ronge Johan 23-åringen släpps fri för Ikea-morden http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/bada-begars-haktade-for-ikeamorden/ 24 August 2015 Expressen Bonnier Group 13 August 2015 Swedish On 31 August 2015, the companion was cleared of all charges.http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/atalstiden-for-morden-pa-ikea-forlangs/ Expressen: Åtalstiden för morden på Ikea förlängs Expressen 1 September 2015 3 August 2016 Swedish police were silent about the case, which is standard procedure during criminal investigations in Sweden to prevent potential contamination of evidence, such as witness testimony.Mederyd Hårdh Martin Rykten väcker förskräckliga krafter till liv http://www.svd.se/ryktesspridning-vacker-forskrackliga-krafter-till-liv/i/utvalt/om/knivattacken-pa-ikea 24 August 2015 Svenska Dagbladet Schibsted 13 August 2015 Swedish Information usually only becomes public after indictment, when the preliminary investigation is finished.Sekretess under pågående förundersökning http://www.aklagare.se/Aklagarens-roll/Forundersokningen/Sekretess-under-pagaende-forundersokning/ Swedish Prosecution Authority 24 August 2015 Swedish dead https://web.archive.org/web/20150825195515/http://www.aklagare.se/Aklagarens-roll/Forundersokningen/Sekretess-under-pagaende-forundersokning/ 25 August 2015 A spokesperson for the police did however say that incident did not appear to have been an act of terrorism, and it did not have an obvious political or religious motive.Miller Michael 'Mad' stabbings turn Ikea store in Sweden into a house of horrors https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/11/mad-stabbings-turn-ikea-store-in-sweden-into-a-house-of-horrors/ 23 August 2015 Washington Post 11 August 2015 Perpetrator Abraham Ukbagabir (born 1979) 2015-10-15 Nu åtalas mannen för Ikeamorden https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vasterbotten/nu-atalas-mannen-for-ikeamorden SVT Nyheter sv confessed to the attack, three days later, in a court hearing via telephone from his hospital bed.Eritrean Suspect Confesses to Ikea Stabbing in Sweden https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/eritrean-suspect-confesses-ikea-stabbing-33060406 23 August 2015 AP ABC News 13 August 2015 He had fled Eritrea in 2005 after fifteen years of forced military service. He spent several years in Italy, where he was granted temporary residence, and briefly travelled to England, where he was denied asylum. In 2013, he immigrated to Sweden. Ukbagabir remained for a period in hospital, watched by security guards, prison officers and under police surveillance. The district court ordered that he should undergo a full psychiatric assessment. The police expected to interview up to 600 people. Sannemalm Ann-Sofie På polisens lista: 600 förhör http://vlt.se/nyheter/vasteras/1.3130960-pa-polisens-lista-600-forhor 31 August 2015 Vestmanlands Läns Tidning 29 August 2015 Swedish March 2026 InternetArchiveBot Lisinski Stefan Misstänkt för knivattacken på Ikea ska psykundersökas https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/misstankt-for-knivattacken-pa-ikea-ska-psykundersokas/ 31 August 2015 Dagens Nyheter 25 August 2015 Swedish Ukbagabir was judged to not have any mental disorder, though it was acknowledged that he displayed a flat affect and claimed to have experienced a vision of God and Moses in 2009. In October 2015, Ukbagabir was found guilty of two first degree murders and was sentenced to life, as well as permanent extradition. Svea Court of Appeal confirmed the sentence in December 2015. Ukbagabir told in court that he felt treated unfairly when his appeal for asylum was rejected and he decided to kill someone as revenge,Magnus Hellberg 21 December 2015 http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/abraham-ukbagabir-far-livstids-fangelse/ Abraham Ukbagabir får livstids fängelse Expressen 3 August 2016 saying he targeted people he believed were Swedish to receive as much attention as possible. While at Kumla Prison, Ukbagabir was attacked and injured by fellow prisoners on multiple occasions requiring hospital care.Ikea-mördaren misshandlad igen http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article23688449.ab 10 October 2016 Aftonbladet 10 October 2016Kardell Johannes 2016-09-09 Ikeamördaren misshandlad i fängelse https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vastmanland/ikeamordaren-misshandlad-i-fangelse SVT Nyheter sv Reactions Following the attack, the Västerås IKEA temporarily closed and then suspended the sale of knives out of concern for the staff.Suspect in Ikea knife attack was Eritrean, due to be deported http://www.dw.com/en/suspect-in-ikea-knife-attack-was-eritrean-due-to-be-deported/a-18646358 23 August 2015 DW 13 August 2013http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article21239918.ab Ikea stoppar sin knivförsäljning Aftonbladet 11 August 2015 24 August 2015 Swedish Rumours about the attack ran rampant on social media. A particularly widespread rumour was that the perpetrator was Somali and had been heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" after decapitating the victims. The police refused to address any rumours, citing confidentiality during the preliminary investigation.Källkritiken är viktigare än någonsin http://www.svd.se/kallkritiken-ar-viktigare-an-nagonsin Svenska Dagbladet 31 August 2015 Swedish 15 August 2015 This led to a debate about Swedish journalism ethics and lack of references in news based on race and religion versus the alternative media and their lack of ethics.Aktuellt: Är medierna för återhållsamma? http://www.svt.se/nyhetsklipp/nyheter/article3188398.svt Aktuellt 31 August 2015 Sveriges Television 18 August 2015 SwedishSwahn Isabelle Het debatt efter dubbelmordet på Ikea http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=3993&artikel=6240831 Radio Sweden 31 August 2015 Radio Sweden 26 August 2015 Swedish On August 13, three days after the attack, the police were forced to break up an illegal demonstration outside the asylum centre where Ukbagabir had lived. A group of about ten men carrying symbols of an extreme-right wing youth organization held anti-immigration placards, shouted anti-Arab slogans and threw eggs at the building.Demonstration vid Kallstensgården http://www.vlt.se/allmant/demonstration-vid-kallstensgarden 31 August 2015 13 August 2015 Vestmanlands Läns Tidning Swedish 2 October 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171002221109/http://www.vlt.se/allmant/demonstration-vid-kallstensgarden deadDemonstration vid Kallstensgården http://bblat.se/nyheter/arboga/1.3107837-demonstration-vid-kallstensgarden :sv:Bärgslagsbladet/Arboga Tidning 31 August 2015 Swedish 13 August 2015 17 August 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150817015513/http://bblat.se/nyheter/arboga/1.3107837-demonstration-vid-kallstensgarden dead Two days later, the asylum centre closed down after police found two bags of flammable liquid nearby.Kihlström Staffan Lagerwall Katarina Brandfarlig vätska hittad vid asylboende https://www.dn.se/arkiv/nyheter/brandfarlig-vatska-hittad-vid-asylboende/ 31 August 2015 Dagens Nyheter 16 August 2015 SwedishBerger Ella 2015-08-15 Brandfarlig vätska hittad vid asylboende https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/misstankt-bomb-vid-asylboende SVT Nyheter sv Aftermath European migrant crisis Immigration and crime The murders came at a time when public debate on questions of immigration and immigrant integration were becoming increasingly heated in Sweden, Scandinavia, and all of Europe.Bilefski Dan Swedish Police, Accused of Cover-Up, Look Into Reports of Sex Assault at Festival https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/world/europe/swedish-police-coverup-sexual-assault.html 12 January 2016 New York Times 11 January 2016 In the immediate aftermath of the murders, online rumors flew about possible Islamic motivations of the perpetrators, but Eva Morén, assistant prosecutor for the Västmanland District Court, told The Washington Post that both Ukbagabir and his companion were Christian. Sweden Democrats MP Björn Söder referenced the Ikea murders in a Facebook post and called on Swedes to consign their long-standing "sjuklöverns" ("seven-clover", disparaging term for the mainstream parties) approach to immigration to the "trash heap."Björn Söder kritiseras för inlägg om Ikeadådet https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/bjorn-soder-kritiseras-for-inlagg-om-ikeadadet/ 31 August 2015 Dagens Nyheter 12 August 2015Lapidus Arne Näthetsen efter tragedin i Västerås https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/nathetsen-efter-tragedin-i-vasteras/ 31 August 2015 Expressen 13 August 2015 Some MPs from other parties accused him of using the Ikea stabbings to push an anti-migrant agenda and raised questions about his fitness to serve as second deputy speaker of the Riksdag.Kritiken mot Söders inlägg: "Osmakligt" http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article21249681.ab 31 August 2015 Aftonbladet 13 August 2015 See also Sweden 2015 Gothenburg pub shooting Trollhättan school attack Killing of Alexandra Mezher References 30em Category:2015 murders in Sweden Category:21st century in Västmanland County Category:August 2015 crimes in Europe Category:Stabbing attacks in 2015 Category:Deaths by stabbing in Sweden Ikea Category:IKEA Category:Knife attacks in Europe Category:Stabbing attacks in Sweden Category:Attacks on shopping malls in Europe Category:Anti-Swedish sentiment Category:2010s trials Category:Trials in Sweden Category:Murder trials Category:European migrant crisis Category:Eritrea–Sweden relations