One confirmed dead after sword attack on first day back at school
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page One person has been killed after being attacked by a man with a sword at a Swedish high school. Earlier today, police confirmed that two teenagers have been left with severe injuries but would not comment on whether there were any deaths.
Both aged between 12 and 17, the two boys are being treated in hospital, while a third sustained ‘light’ injuries. Then, in a press conference this evening, Police Chief Tommy Alriksson shared that one person was found dead when officers entered the school to secure the premises. The pupils had just returned to Brinell High School in the small town of Fagersta, central Sweden, following their summer break when the attack occurred.
A massive emergency response was triggered when a man armed with a sword entered the school as classes were in session. A man with a sword attacked students on their first day back after the summer break (Picture: Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images) 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.
Alriksson later corroborated prior local media reports that the suspect arrested was an 18-year-old. It’s been claimed he is a former student of the school who had an existing assault conviction. He also confirmed that shots were fired at the perpetrator, who is now in custody. He was allegedly shot in the leg.
There is no longer any danger to the public, he added. ‘We have no reason at this time to believe that there are multiple perpetrators,’ said Alriksson, insisting that an investigation was underway. It is unclear what the attacker’s motive may have been. 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 before the attack.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page A huge emergency response was triggered (Picture: Reuters) 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.’
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.
Other schools and public buildings were put on lockdown (Picture: Fredrik Sandberg/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images) 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. ‘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.