Sweden school sword attack kills 17-year-old girl, three students injured

A 17-year-old girl was killed and three other children were injured in a sword attack at Brinell School in Fagersta. As police probe the motive and wider circumstances, the town has gathered to mourn another episode of school violence in Sweden.

In Short

• An 18-year-old suspect was arrested and faces murder charges after the attack
• Police found no evidence suggesting any additional attackers were involved
• Investigators conducted two house searches and planned extensive witness interviews

Swedish police on Saturday identified the person killed in a sword attack at a school in central Sweden as a 17-year-old girl. The attack, carried out by an 18-year-old man while classes were on at Brinell School in Fagersta, left three others injured, two of them seriously.

The suspect has been arrested and the case is being investigated as murder and attempted murder. Police said they had no reason to believe anyone else was involved, and there was no official information on a possible motive.

Authorities in Vastmanland County said the two seriously injured children were boys aged 12 and 17. A third person, also under 18, suffered minor injuries and has been discharged from hospital, according to Swedish news agency TT.

Sweden's national police said investigators had already carried out two house searches linked to the suspect. Many witnesses were also expected to be interviewed as part of the investigation.

The region was placed under a state of emergency on Friday after the attack, but that had ended by Saturday. On Saturday morning, about 70 people gathered at a memorial site set up by the municipality, bringing flowers and lighting candles, TT reported.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had earlier said in a post on X that he 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 said. "Our thoughts are with all those affected."

Sweden has seen several violent attacks at schools over the years. Last year, 11 people, including the gunman, died in an attack at an education centre in Orebro in central Sweden, which led the government to propose tougher gun laws. It is considered 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 axe at a school in Malmo, killing them. In 2015, a 21-year-old local man went on a stabbing attack at a school in the southern industrial city of Trollhattan, killing three people before police shot him dead. Authorities called it a racist hate crime and said he had deliberately targeted dark-skinned victims at Kronan school, where most students were foreign-born.

Police continued their investigation on Saturday as the town mourned the death of the 17-year-old girl and the injuries to three other children in the school attack.

With PTI Inputs

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