A manhunt is continuing Friday for the tenant in an apartment building that was rocked by an explosion and fire this week that injured 16 people, four of them seriously
STOCKHOLM — A manhunt continued Friday for the tenant in an apartment building that was rocked by an explosion and fire this week that injured 16 people, four of them seriously.
The man is wanted on suspicion of public destruction. Authorities have not identified him, but Swedish media reported the suspect was a man in his 50s who had lived with his mother in the building in Goteborg, Sweden’s second-largest city.
The block was shattered by a powerful explosion early Tuesday. Ensuing blazes spread to several apartments, and hundreds of residents were evacuated. At least 140 apartments were damaged.
Swedish radio quoted an unnamed neighbor as saying the suspect had “lot of chemicals either in the apartment or in the basement, given the smell.”
The property owner had been trying to evict the man and his mother from their apartment, according to daily newspaper Aftonbladet. Several Swedish media said an eviction was planned for Tuesday, the day the explosion occurred.
Aftonbladet said police had charged the man with several offenses a week before the blast. The paper also reported that after he wasn’t allowed to see his mother at a nursing home because of pandemic restrictions, the suspect harassed several people, including the owner of the building.
