18-Year-Old Kills One, Injures Three in Swedish High School Sword Attack

Swedish police are investigating whether an 18-year-old man who attacked students at a high school in Fagersta with a sword on Friday, killing one, was involved in online communities promoting school violence.

The attacker also severely injured two teenage boys before being arrested. The parents of a 17-year-old girl told Fagersta-Posten that their daughter was killed in the attack. Two boys, aged between 12 and 17, were seriously injured and admitted to hospital, with one undergoing emergency surgery, though both are in stable condition. A third person sustained lighter injuries.

The attack occurred at Brinellskolan, which has about 400 to 500 students. Police received reports of the attack just after 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) on Friday. Officers shot the suspect during the arrest. Police are investigating a TikTok account that posted a picture of a sword 20 minutes before the assault, which appeared to be taken inside a school toilet.

The month-old account contained videos referencing two mass violence attacks in Sweden and Norwegian far-right mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, as well as a 2015 attack in Trollhattan. The Fagersta municipality stated that an assailant armed with a sword had entered Brinellskolan and wounded several people. Students, just back from summer holidays, were in lockdown at the school and several nearby schools for over three hours.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson lamented the violence right after the summer break and canceled a speech scheduled for Saturday. King Carl XVI Gustaf expressed dismay and sadness. Police Chief Tommy Alriksson stated there was no reason to believe there were multiple perpetrators. Police are working to establish a motive and are interviewing many witnesses, which limits the information they can release.