Two teenagers have been left with severe injuries after being attacked by a man with a sword at a Swedish high school. The pupils had just returned to the Brinell High School in the small town of Fagersta, central Sweden, following their summer break.
A massive emergency response was triggered when a man armed with a sword entered this afternoon, with two boys seriously injured, while a third suffered wounds of which the extent is unknown.
Police response and arrest
Police confirmed in a statement that the alarm was raised at 2.06pm about 'suspected deadly violence', and they immediately sent 'all available resources' to the school. The spokesperson declined to address whether anyone had been killed but said that one person at the scene was later taken into custody and that there was no longer any danger to the public.
Local reports have further claimed that the suspect was shot in the leg by officers.
Suspect identified
Public broadcaster SVT cited anonymous sources in their reports that the individual arrested was an 18-year-old former student who had a previous assault conviction. His home was raided after his arrest, with police also investigating a mysterious TikTok account where an image of a sword was shared around 25 minutes prior to the attack. It is unknown whether the account is connected to the suspect, but it had previously shared pictures and videos praising mass murderers.
The suspect wore a helmet during the sword attack, and students recalled fleeing for their safety. 'We just all ran,' said Abdulrahem Salmo. He added that he had seen one victim with a bloody stab wound to their arm. 'Then people called the police, and we just all ran from there because we were afraid.'
Community in shock
Madelene Jansson, whose daughter goes to the school, also spoke to local newspaper Fagersta-posten outside, explaining that she was sent a text message by her child, saying 'somebody had been stabbed, and the police were on their way'. 'Then it all just went off. It feels unreal,' she told the paper.
Several police officers were seen coming in and out of a cordon surrounding Brinell, which has 450 students aged 16 to 20. The incident triggered a mass lockdown, with measures implemented for eight other schools, which were later lifted. Public buildings were also locked down in Fagersta, a town with a population of 13,000.
Official response
'We are moving into high alert status to marshal our resources and gain the clearest possible picture of the situation,' the Vastmanland county authority said in a statement.
The Swedish government has been liaising with the police force in the aftermath of the attack, with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson urging people to allow the emergency services to work without disturbance. 'Our thoughts are with all those affected,' he added in an X post.
Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson also wrote: 'All of Sweden stands together with Fagersta at this difficult time.'
The sword attack comes 18 months after the worst mass shooting in Swedish history. A gunman opened fire at a school in Orebro, also in central Sweden, killing 10 people before shooting himself.
