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Teenager killed, three injured in sword attack at Swedish school; suspect arrested
Teenager killed, three injured in sword attack at Swedish school; suspect arrested
Swedish police confirmed a 17-year-old girl was killed and three others injured in a sword attack at Brinell School in Fagersta on Friday afternoon. The suspect, an 18-year-old man, was arrested at the scene and remains in custody on suspicion of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder.
The attack unfolded just after 2 p.m. local time, with the first emergency call received at 14:06, according to student accounts. Witnesses described the assailant as wearing a helmet and a black balaclava, wielding a long sword in the school’s common area. Two boys, aged 12 and 17, sustained serious injuries, while a third victim was treated for minor wounds and released. A student, Fredrik Ericson, told local media he saw the attacker strike a 16-year-old boy in the arm and back before fleeing the scene. Ericson later transported the wounded teen to a nearby hospital in his car, a Volvo 740, according to Expressen.
Police are investigating whether the suspect was linked to online communities promoting school violence. Authorities are examining a TikTok account that posted an image of a sword 20 minutes before the attack, taken in a school restroom, and previously shared videos referencing past Swedish school attacks and Norwegian far-right mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, Reuters reported. Investigators have conducted two house searches and interviewed approximately 80 people, with plans to question nearly all of the school’s 450 staff and students.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and opposition leader Magdalena Andersson visited the school on Saturday, where memorials of flowers and candles had been laid. Kristersson described the attack as a “serious incident” in a post on X, adding that police were working intensively to determine the motive. Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf said he received the news “with dismay and sadness,” according to the BBC.
The school, located 170 km northwest of Stockholm, remains partially cordoned off as a crime scene, and authorities have not confirmed whether it will reopen on Monday. Political party leaders paused campaigning ahead of the September 13 general election following the attack. The suspect, a former student at Brinell School, was not shot during his arrest, police clarified on Saturday, correcting earlier statements.
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