Sword attack at school in Sweden: Authorities investigate 18-year-old's online footprint
An 18-year-old is reported to have posted a photograph of a sword on TikTok 20 minutes before the attack at a secondary school in Västerås. A 17-year-old lost her life and two teenagers were injured.
Sweden: Digital traces of 18-year-old under investigation following deadly sword attack in Västerås
Swedish authorities are focusing on the online history of the 18-year-old accused of the sword attack at a secondary school in Västerås, in central Sweden, examining whether online communities that glorify school violence influenced him, according to Philenews.
A 17-year-old lost her life in the attack. Two other teenagers were injured. The suspect was arrested immediately after the incident and faces charges of murder and attempted murder.
According to a police source who spoke to Reuters, investigators are examining a TikTok account reportedly belonging to the 18-year-old. Approximately 20 minutes before the attack, a photograph of a sword was posted to the account. Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported that the photograph appears to have been taken in a toilet at the same school.
The account in question had been created approximately one month before the attack and was deleted immediately afterwards. According to the information being examined by authorities, it contained videos and references to previous mass violence attacks in Sweden, as well as Norwegian far-right perpetrator Anders Behring Breivik. Among the references identified was the 2015 attack at a school in Trollhättan, where a masked individual armed with a sword killed one teacher and two pupils before being shot dead by police.
"Investigators are examining various online communities that may have encouraged the suspect to carry out the attack," the same police source stated.
The prosecutorial authorities ordered the detention of the 18-year-old as part of the investigation. Prosecutor Ann-Sophie Trosing stated to Reuters that "the investigation is being conducted at an intensive pace" and that statements and information are being gathered, without being able to provide further details.
The authorities' objective is to determine the perpetrator's exact motives and to clarify whether the online content he is reported to have viewed or posted is causally connected to the attack.
Source: Philenews