Love manifestation at Sergel Square

Thousands of people gathered at Sergel Square in Stockholm. 

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  Albin, 2 years old, gives a flower, and hugs a policeman during a manifestation on the Sergel square in central Stockholm two days after the terror attack, April 9, 2017 in Stockholm. Heavily armed police looks on. Bildbyrån photo

• Thousands of people gathered in a manifestation of love at Sergel Square in Stockholm on Sunday, April 9, close to where the terrorist attack occurred on April 7. The stairs of the square were filled with flowers, lit candles and stuffed animals, and Sergel Square itself was filled with thousands of people who gathered together to show their love.
  Organizer Damon Rasti urged people to respond with light and warmth after the terrorist attack. “Even if you do not know each other, you feel the same sadness, fear and confusion,” he said. The MC Rickard Sjöberg noted that "today we are all Stockholmers.” Karin Wanngård, team leader for the Social Democrats in Stockholm thanked everyone who helped during and after the attack. “Terror must never win. We should instead remember the openness that has characterized our city,” she said.

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  A police car is covered by flowers on Drottninggatan in central Stockholm three days after the terror attack. Bildbyrån photo

• At 2:53 p.m., the time of Friday's attack, people hooked arms with each other during a minute of silence to honor victims of the attack and their families. The emotional moment in Stockholm was followed by Miriam Bryant's singing of the Irish folksong The Parting Glass, "Ett sista glas," in Swedish.

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  Organizers took to Facebook and urged people to “take back the streets and the city.”

• Rasti took to Facebook on Friday and urged people to “take back the streets and the city.” He said people’s commitment had been enormous. “You can feel people’s need to come together and hold hands and talk to each other. Even if you do not know each other, you feel the same grief and the same fears and the same confusion. This feels like a small light in the darkness after all,” he said.