Sword-wielding attacker in Fagersta school: multiple injured, one person detained
A man armed with a sword attacked pupils at Swedish secondary school Brinell in Fagersta on Friday afternoon. One person has been detained, and the government is in contact with police.
Sword attack at secondary school in Fagersta: injured, suspect detained
A man armed with a sword injured several people on Friday afternoon at secondary school Brinell in Fagersta, a city of around 13,000 residents in central Sweden, 24sata reported. Local authorities confirmed that one person was subsequently detained and no longer poses a danger to the public.
Police received a report at 14:06. "We received an alarm about possible lethal violence and sent all available resources to the school," a police spokesperson told Reuters.
Brinell school is attended by around 450 pupils aged 16 to 20 years. The incident occurred on the very day classes resumed after the summer break — for some pupils, Friday was their first day of secondary education.
As a precaution, several neighbouring schools and public buildings in Fagersta were also closed.
Daily newspaper Expressen reported, citing unnamed sources, that police had fired on the suspect, but Reuters was unable to independently confirm this report.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told Reuters that the Swedish government is in close contact with police. "We have been informed of a serious incident in Fagersta. Police are at the scene and working very intensively on the incident," said Strommer.
The attack occurred one year after a shooting at a school in Örebro, also in central Sweden, in which the attacker killed ten people before taking his own life — the worst mass murder in the country's history.
Source: 24sata