Sword attack at school in Sweden kills 17-year-old girl, officials say

An 18-year-old with a sword attack at a school Friday in central Sweden, killing a 17-year-old and wounding three others, two of them severely, authorities said.

The perpetrator carried out the attack at the Brinell School in Fagersta, northwest of Stockholm, while classes were in session with about 400 to 500 students, officials said. The suspect was arrested and the case was being investigated as murder and attempted murder, police said.

Vastmanland County, where the town is located, said that the two seriously injured boys were ages 12 and 17. A third person, also under 18, was slightly injured and has been discharged from a hospital, Swedish news agency TT reported.

“We have no reason at this time to believe that there are multiple perpetrators,” said Police Chief Tommy Alriksson said at a news conference Friday, adding that an investigation was continuing.

There was no official information on the attacker’s possible motive.

On Saturday morning, around 70 people gathered at the memorial site that the municipality prepared, carrying flowers and lighting candles, TT reported.

Sweden’s national police said investigators have already carried out two house searches in connection with the suspect. Many witnesses were expected to be interviewed as part of the investigation.

“That’s why we can’t give out too much information, because we don’t want to influence witnesses,” Alriksson said.

Police spokesperson Pelle Vamstad, quoted by the TT news agency, said an alarm was received early Friday afternoon and that police rushed to the scene. He said officers would check any available camera footage for their investigation.

The dead person was found as police entered the school to secure the premises, authorities said.

In a post earlier on X, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the attack a “serious incident” and lamented the violence in Fagersta “right after the summer break.” 

“We do not yet know what lies behind the act, but we know that the police are working very intensively,” he added. “Our thoughts are with all those affected.”

The Fagersta city government said it set up a crisis center in a sports hall near the school. The Vastmanland County government said “many people” were affected and that police, fire services and healthcare workers were among those caring for them.

Sweden has seen a series of violent school attacks over the years.

Last year, 11 people, including the gunman, died after an attack at an education center in Örebro in central Sweden, leading the government to propose tougher gun laws. It’s considered to be the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.

In 2022, an 18-year-old man attacked two female teachers with a knife and an ax in a school in Malmo, killing them.

In 2015, a 21-year-old local man rampaged through a school in the southern industrial city of Trollhattan, stabbing three people to death before being fatally shot by police. Authorities called it a racist hate crime, saying he methodically selected dark-skinned victims at Trollhattan’s Kronan school, where most students are foreign-born.