Two teenagers seriously injured after sword attack at Swedish school

One killed in sword attack at Swedish school A man was arrested after a sword attack at a high school in central Sweden left one person dead and two others seriously injured, authorities said. The incident occurred at Brinell School in Fagersta, approximately 170km northwest of Stockholm, shortly after 14:00 local time on Friday. Police responded quickly and detained the suspect, who was identified as an 18-year-old former student of the school with a prior criminal record for assault. According to reports, the attacker was wearing a helmet and brandishing a sword during the attack. The attack took place just days after the start of the new academic year, as students had recently returned from summer break. The school, which has around 500 pupils, was placed under lockdown along with eight other nearby schools in the area. The regional government of Västmanland declared a state of high alert following the incident, though officials stated there was no immediate threat to the public. The suspect was reportedly shot in the leg by police during the confrontation. At least three individuals were injured in the attack. Two teenage boys suffered serious wounds, while a third person sustained unspecified injuries. Local media reported that one of the victims succumbed to his injuries, marking another tragic incident in Sweden’s history of violence at educational institutions. This follows a series of similar attacks in recent years, including a deadly mass shooting in 2025 that claimed 11 lives at an adult education center in Orebro, prompting stricter gun control measures. In 2022, two teachers were murdered at a secondary school in Malmo, with the perpetrator later confessing to the crime. A sword attack in 2015 resulted in the deaths of a teacher and a student at a school in Trollhattan. Eyewitness accounts provided further insight into the chaos of the day. A student named Abdulrahem Salmo described seeing a victim with a stab wound to the arm before the police arrived. “Then people called the police and we just all ran from there because we were afraid,” he told Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT. Parents and staff expressed shock and fear over the incident. Madelene Jansson, a mother of a student at the school, recounted receiving a text message from her daughter warning of a stabbing and the arrival of police. “It all just went off. It feels unreal,” she said in a statement to the local newspaper Fagersta-posten. Authorities have begun investigating the motive behind the attack, though no official explanation has been released. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson addressed the situation on social media, calling the event a “serious incident” and emphasizing that police were actively working to determine the cause. “We do not yet know what lies behind the act, but we know that the police are working very intensely,” he wrote. The government has also established a crisis centre in a nearby sports hall to support those impacted by the attack. As the investigation continues, the focus remains on ensuring the safety of students and staff in schools across the region. With a history of targeted violence against educational facilities, the incident underscores the ongoing challenges faced by Swedish authorities in maintaining security in public spaces. The community is now awaiting further updates on the case and the broader implications for school safety policies.