RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We're getting word this morning of some breaking news out of Stockholm, Sweden. A truck crashed into a department store there, killing at least three people, injuring many others. The Swedish prime minister says it looks like it may be connected to terrorism. Joining us with the latest is Lava Selo. She's a journalist with Swedish TV. Thanks so much for being with us.
LAVA SELO: You're welcome.
MARTIN: What else can you tell us about what happened? I mean, what part of Stockholm did this take place in?
SELO: It happened in central Stockholm. It's near the Central Station, actually. And it's called Drottninggatan, the street.
MARTIN: So it's a crowded part of the city?
SELO: Yeah, it's a very crowded part of the city.
MARTIN: Do we know anything about the person who was driving the truck?
SELO: No, I don't know. I mean, I didn't check this. I just...
MARTIN: And at least three people were killed, many others injured. Do you know the natures - the nature of those injuries, or if people are in hospital now?
SELO: No, we don't know. But I spoke with an eyewitness. She was there when it happened, and she was like - a few seconds - she was in panic, and she said that things were flying and the shop window was broken. And she saw - because she was in panic and doesn't remember what she saw - she saw an arm or a hand of a woman. And she's - I mean, she says that she thinks it's more people, but it's not verified. The information is just what she thinks.
MARTIN: This is obviously happening after there has been a series now of attacks that have been waged with vehicles. We remember in Nice, France, along the boardwalk there, a semi-truck also in Germany at the Christmas market and most recently in London, near the parliament building, that vehicle that went onto that pedestrian walkway. All those episodes were connected to terrorism, and the prime minister in Sweden is saying that there could be links here. Has he said anything else about what makes him believe that to be so?
SELO: No, but they think that everything points at the - it's a terror attack. But the police didn't verify that it's - (unintelligible) - suspect, terror attack, yeah. They've not verified.
MARTIN: Is terrorism and radical Islamic terrorism something that has been a concern among Swedes?
SELO: I mean, the people on the street that we just reached out and spoke to, they were saying, like, this is the first time it's happened to us because the last terror attack was in 2010 in Sweden. And it's, like, long time ago, and people didn't expect, like, something like this could happen in Sweden. And that time, it was only the person himself who died. So it's not very usual here, no.
MARTIN: Swedish journalist Lava Selo in Stockholm, she has been following this story this morning. A truck crashed into a department store in Stockholm. The prime minister in Sweden says it has the hallmarks of terrorism. Thank you so much for your time this morning.
SELO: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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