Sword Attack at School in Fagersta: Girl Killed, Two Pupils Seriously Injured
A 17-year-old girl has been killed in a sword attack at a secondary school in the Swedish town of Fagersta, with three further teenagers injured. An 18-year-old man has been arrested.
Sword Attack in Fagersta: Girl Dead, Two Pupils in Hospital
A 17-year-old girl has been killed in a sword attack at a secondary school in the Swedish town of Fagersta. This was reported by SRF citing the newspaper "Fagersta-Posten", which cited the victim's family as its source. Other Swedish media outlets, including the news agency TT and Swedish public radio, reported the incident.
The attack occurred on Friday in Fagersta, north-west of Stockholm. Three further teenagers were injured in the attack, two of them seriously. One of the injured has since been discharged from hospital; two boys aged between 12 and 17 are still being treated as inpatients, one of whom had to undergo emergency surgery. Their condition is stable, the authorities said on Saturday.
Attacker Stopped Shortly After the Attack
The alarm was raised at 14:06. Ten minutes later, the suspected attacker had been overpowered. "At 14:16, the attacker was overpowered and arrested. Police fired shots during this," according to an official statement. According to Swedish tabloid media, the attacker was shot in the leg.
The arrested person is an 18-year-old man who has been in police custody since then. According to Swedish public radio, he is said to be a former pupil of the school in question. Nothing is yet known about the motive.
A pupil described to Swedish television how he observed the attacker stabbing a classmate in the arm. "His whole arm was covered in blood, he said: 'Call the police! Call the police!'" Then everyone ran.
Hours-Long Cordons, Worried Parents
Pupils who were still in the school building after the incident were not permitted to leave for hours according to media reports. Worried parents waited in the school yard; some were crying, according to the television station SVT. Nurseries and schools in the surrounding area also kept children inside the building initially for security reasons. Around 18:00, the municipality gave the all-clear. The school has approximately 500 pupils.
On Saturday morning, there was still a large police presence on site. "The work has only just begun," a police spokesman told Swedish public radio.
Reactions from Politics and the Royal House
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote to broadcaster SVT via text message that it is 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 Democratic party leader Magdalena Andersson wrote on the platform X: "Shocking news from Fagersta. My thoughts are with those affected and everyone who is touched by this." All of Sweden stands with Fagersta in this difficult hour.
Late in the evening, King Carl XVI Gustaf also spoke. "With shock and sorrow, we have received the news that Sweden has once again been struck by an attack at a school," according to a statement from the Royal House. The King referred to the shooting spree in February 2025 in Örebro, in which eleven people died, and expressed his understanding for the unrest that the renewed school attack has triggered throughout society.
Source: SRF