One person has been killed in a sword attack at a high school in central Sweden, authorities have said.
Police were called to Brinell School in Fagersta shortly after 2 pm local time on Friday and arrested an 18‑year‑old suspect who was wearing a helmet.
The suspect was shot by officers before being detained. Two teenage boys received serious injuries, and a third person had minor wounds.
Following the attack, eight nearby schools were placed under lockdown – a measure that has since been lifted – while the Västmanland region was declared under a state of high alert. Police say there is currently no ongoing danger to the public.
The attacker was described by the public broadcaster as a former student of the school. Authorities are now trying to establish motives and any broader connections.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson referred to the incident as a “serious event” on X, stressing the intense police work underway. King Carl XVI Gustaf issued a statement expressing his “dismay and sadness” and offered thoughts of those affected.
Students had just returned from summer break, with the new term set to commence this week. Brinell School hosts roughly 500 pupils and sits 170 km (105 mi) northwest of Stockholm.
This is the latest in a series of violent confrontations in Swedish schools. The country endured its worst ever mass shooting in 2025 at an adult education centre in Örebro, where 11 people died, prompting stricter gun laws. In 2022, a teenage student confessed to a sword attack in Malmö that killed two teachers, and in 2015 a sword incident at a school in Trollhättan resulted in the deaths of a teacher and a student.
The country experienced its worst-ever mass shooting in 2025
An 18‑year‑old student later confessed to the attack in Malmö in 2022.
A teacher and a pupil were killed in a sword attack at a school in Trollhättan in 2015.
