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Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the incident “serious” and said authorities were working intensively to establish what had happened.
Police and emergency personnel work outside Brinellskolan during a major emergency response, at Brinell School, in Fagersta, central Sweden. (Reuters photo)
A sword-wielding attacker entered a high school in central Sweden on Friday, killing one person and wounding three others before police shot and arrested the 18-year-old suspect, authorities said.
Police said they were alerted to the attack at Brinellskolan in Fagersta shortly after 2pm local time. Officers entered the school, where they found one person dead and several others injured.
Local police chief Tommy Alriksson said two of the wounded were seriously injured, while a third suffered lighter injuries. Police were investigating the motive and said there was no indication that more than one person was involved.
“It is a very serious and deeply shocking incident,” Fagersta mayor Asa-Marta Sjostrom told the media.
Students kept in lockdown
Two seriously injured boys, aged between 12 and 17, were taken to hospital, regional healthcare officials said. One underwent emergency surgery, although both were in stable condition.
The school and several nearby schools were placed under lockdown for more than three hours as police secured the area. Brinellskolan has about 450 students.
The attack came as students were returning after their summer holidays. Sixteen-year-old student Nellie Strandberg told Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter that she saw a man covered in blood before hearing that someone had a large knife.
Police have not disclosed the identity of the suspect or a possible motive. Swedish broadcaster SVT reported that he had a previous assault conviction and was wearing a helmet while carrying a sword.
Police were also reportedly examining a TikTok account allegedly linked to the suspect, which had been removed. The account reportedly contained references to school attacks and a recent image of a sword.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the incident “serious” and said authorities were working intensively to establish what had happened.
“We do not yet know what lies behind the attack, but we do know that the police are working extremely intensively,” Kristersson said.
Sweden has previously suffered deadly attacks at schools. In February 2025, a gunman killed 10 people at an adult education centre in Orebro in the country’s deadliest mass shooting. In 2022, an 18-year-old student stabbed two teachers to death at a secondary school in Malmo.
(With inputs from agencies)
Key Questions Answered
Ask News18In February 2025, a gunman killed 10 people at an adult education centre in Orebro, which was Sweden’s deadliest mass shooting. In 2022, an 18-year-old student stabbed two teachers to death at a secondary school in Malmo.
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The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, …Read More
August 22, 2026, 02:30 IST
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