Sword attack at school in Fagersta: 17-year-old girl killed, three teenagers injured
An 18-year-old attacked a secondary school in Fagersta with a sword, killing a girl and injuring three other teenagers. The attacker was arrested.
Sword attack in Fagersta: One fatality, perpetrator in police custody
A 17-year-old girl was killed in a sword attack at a secondary school in Fagersta, northwest of Stockholm, on Friday. The newspaper Fagersta-Posten reported this on Saturday morning citing the victim's family; other Swedish media outlets, including news agency TT and Swedish public broadcasting, picked up the report. According to SRF, three other teenagers were injured in the attack, two of them seriously.
One of the injured teenagers was discharged from hospital on Saturday. Two boys aged between 12 and 17 are continuing to receive inpatient treatment, one of whom required emergency surgery. Their condition is stable, authorities said.
Perpetrator overpowered within ten minutes
The alarm was raised on Friday at 14:06. "At 14:16, the perpetrator was overpowered and arrested. Police fired shots in the process," according to an official statement. According to tabloid media, the attacker was shot in the leg. The suspected perpetrator, an 18-year-old man, is in police custody. No motive is known so far. According to Swedish public broadcasting, he is said to be a former pupil of the school.
A student described to Swedish television how he saw the attacker stab a classmate in the arm. "His whole arm was covered in blood, he said: 'Call the police! Call the police!'" Everyone then ran.
Students confined for hours
The students who were in the school at the time of the incident were not allowed to leave the building for hours, according to media reports. Anxious parents waited in the school yard; some were crying, as television channel SVT reported. Children in nearby nurseries and schools also had to remain in their buildings initially for security reasons. Around 18:00, the municipality gave the all-clear: parents could now pick up their children.
Early on Saturday morning, a large police presence was still at the scene. A spokesman told Swedish public broadcasting that the investigation work had "only just begun".
Reactions from politics and the royal house
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote to broadcaster SVT via SMS that it was not yet known what lay behind the act, "but we know that the police are working very intensively". Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer stated: "The government is in close contact with the police and is monitoring developments on an ongoing basis."
Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson wrote on platform X: "Terrible news from Fagersta. My thoughts are with those affected and everyone who is touched by this." All of Sweden stood alongside Fagersta in this difficult hour.
Late in the evening, King Carl XVI Gustaf also expressed his condolences. "We have received with dismay and sorrow the news that Sweden has once again been struck by an attack at a school," according to a statement from the royal household. The King referred to a shooting rampage in February 2025 at a school in Örebro, in which eleven people were killed. "I also wish to express my understanding for the unrest that this is causing among pupils, school staff, parents in Fagersta and in our entire society."
The affected school has approximately 500 pupils.
Source: SRF