Uppsala shooting: Swedes react to horror amid Walpurgis festival

The Swedish city Uppsala broke into party spirit this week - but the killing of hair salon customers still wearing their capes left many shaken.

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At a hair salon in Uppsala, a city north of Stockholm, three young men who police say were aged between 15 and 20 were shot dead on Tuesday before the celebrations started.

The horror left many shaken in the build-up to the festival, known as Valborg in Swedish, which is typically a convivial affair each 30 April on the eve of the Christian feast day of Saint Walpurga. Celebrated nationwide, Uppsala hosts the country's largest and most high-profile Walpurgis events, popular with students.

The partying did go ahead in full swing, but a subtle heaviness hung over the Swedish blue and yellow flags which fluttered around the city.

And now, with the festival finished, it's only police tape - not flags - fluttering outside the basement barber shop where the shooting took place close to Vaksala Square.