Suspected gunshots near Israeli embassy in Stockholm prompt police cordon, synagogue arson averted in Rouen, France

Swedish police have detained several people and cordoned off an area in Stockholm after a patrol heard suspected gunshots, they said on Friday, with the Israeli embassy located in the closed-off area.

“A police patrol at Strandvagen in Stockholm heard bangs and suspected there had been a shooting,” police said on their website, adding that the affected area lay between the capital’s Djurgarden Bridge, its Nobel Park and the Oscar Church.

Several people have been detained and an investigation has been launched into a suspected serious weapons crime, they added.

“In connection with the ongoing forensic investigation, findings have been made that strengthen the suspicions that a shooting took place,” police said on its website.

Reuters could not immediately reach police and the Israeli embassy for comment.

Swedish news agency TT said police declined to comment on whether there was a link between the incident and the Israeli embassy.

French police officers in Rouen ‘neutralised’ an armed individual who was intent on setting fire to the town’s synagogue, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Friday morning in a post on social network X.