HELSINKI, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Sweden will ban AR-15 rifles and similar semi-automatic firearms for hunting following a deadly school shooting in February.

Starting Aug. 1, police will stop issuing new hunting licenses for these weapons. Existing permits will be revoked in a second phase, with owners given two years to relicense them for sport or sell them. Unsold guns will be subject to a full-value buyback.

The AR-15 was only approved for hunting in 2023; the new rules reverse that decision.

At the same time, Sweden will ease some gun regulations for legal owners: allowing hunters to own up to eight firearms (ten if justified), and simplifying rules on storage, transport, and sport shooting licenses.

The government said the reforms are designed to balance the need to prevent gun-related crime with efforts to reduce unnecessary burdens on hunters and sport shooters.

The Feb. 4 shooting at Risbergska Skolan, an adult education center in Orebro, left 11 people dead, marking one of the deadliest acts of mass violence in Sweden's recent history. ■