Swedish police investigate killing near political gathering as 'terrorist' crime

Swedish prosecutors say they are investigating the death of a woman near a political festival as a possible terrorist crime.

The woman in her 60s was killed in broad daylight near an annual event for Sweden's top politicians on the island of Gotland last Wednesday (July 6).

A 32-year-old man was arrested shortly after the incident on suspicion of murder.

Prosecutors said last week that the suspect appeared to have acted alone and targeted his victim in a knife attack.

"A thorough investigation is underway. This includes establishing the motive and background of the person arrested," Fredrik Persson, Gotland's police chief, said at a press conference last week.

He added that investigators were looking into a range of issues "as this happened in a very public place, where there were a lot of people in the centre of Visby in the middle of the day".

Political parties and supporters gather each year for Almedalen week on Gotland to present their new policies and launch their campaigns.

Police have said they had no indications of any further threats to such events and are not looking for any other suspect.

"The criminal charges against the person in custody ... have been changed to terrorist offence by murder," a statement read.