Five people have been shot at an adult education centre in Sweden, including several police officers.

The shooting took place at Risbergska School in the city of Örebro, some 125 miles west of Stockholm, on Tuesday afternoon.

Officials are urging residents to stay away from the school, which is under lockdown.

Daily Aftonbladet, citing unnamed sources, reported that shots had been fired and that several people were injured.

Local outlet SVT Örebro reported that the shooting was carried out with an automatic weapon.

‘Threats of lethal violence’

Police said in a statement “the operation concerns threats of lethal violence”, adding that the situation was still developing.

Svanfridur Birgisdottir, one of the education centre’s principals, told Dagens Nyheter, a Swedish newspaper: “It’s a crisis.”

Police said the extent of the injuries is unclear. It is also not yet clear if the shooting is ongoing. Reports said an armed police unit was on site.

“This is currently seen as attempted murder, arson and [an] aggravated weapons offence,” police said.

Gunnar Strömmer, the justice minister, told Swedish news agency TT: “The reports of violence in Orebro are very serious.

“The police are on site and the operation is in full swing. The government is in close contact with the police, and is closely following developments.”

Risbergska School, which has 2,000 students, was previously a high school, but is now also used for adult education and for teaching Swedish to immigrants through a government programme known as SFI.