Swedish High School Attack: Attacker Wounded With Sword

Several people got hurt Friday during a sword rampage at a high school in Sweden. Police shot the attacker in the leg and now hold him in custody, Aftonbladet reported. The chaos began at The Brinell School in Fagersta, just northwest of Stockholm, around 2:06pm local time.

A police statement confirmed they received word about deadly violence inside a school there. Officers rushed to the scene immediately and took one person into custody. They are working with multiple resources right now while asking the public to obey roadblocks and listen for instructions.

The Fagersta municipality did not say exactly how many people were wounded. They said police were searching the building and that nearby schools had been locked down as a precaution. A assailant armed with a sword entered Brinellskolan and injured several others, officials added, before being detained by law enforcement.

Public broadcaster SVT showed ambulances, police cars, and even a helicopter parked outside the school in this small city of roughly 12,000 residents. The reasons behind the attack remain unclear for now. The school holds about 450 students between ages 16 and 20.

Police spokesman Pelle Vamstad said authorities are checking camera footage to see if it can help with the preliminary investigation. The municipality held a crisis meeting right after the incident occurred while specially trained counselors provide support to victims and their families.

Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told Reuters the government is in close contact with police following the attack. He stated they had been informed of a serious incident in Fagersta where officers were working very intensively on site. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson responded on X, noting the event happened right after summer break and that reports indicate injured people are being treated.

We still do not know exactly what drove this latest act of violence, but police are already working with intense focus on the scene. Authorities have asked everyone to step back and let emergency services operate without interruption. 'Our thoughts are with all those affected,' officials stated as they assessed the situation.

Sweden's Minister for Education and Integration, Simona Mohamsson, received terrible news from a school in Fagersta. She confirmed that a police operation is currently underway while the government keeps a close watch on developing events. My heart goes out to every student, teacher, and parent involved,' she said. Daniel Helldén of Sweden's Green Party called what happened in Fagersta terribly tragic. 'When students and school staff are subjected to violence, it touches us all,' he noted. Labour Party leader Magdalena Andersson added that all of Sweden stands together with Fagersta during this difficult time. Her centre-left coalition holds a clear lead in opinion polls ahead of next month's parliamentary election.

Sweden has witnessed several high-profile attacks at educational institutions recently. In February 2025, a 35-year-old man killed 10 people at an adult education centre in Orebro - marking Sweden's worst mass shooting. Police said it was motivated by the killer's wish to end his life because of financial and psychological woes. Then there is March 2022, when an 18-year-old student fatally stabbed two teachers at a secondary school in the southern city of Malmo. Back in 2015, two teachers and a pupil were stabbed to death in a school in the western town of Trollhattan by a masked man wielding a sword and a large knife. The 21-year-old perpetrator posed with students before starting his killing spree, only to be shot dead by police.

That attack then-Prime Minister Stefan Löfven called a 'black day for Sweden,' and authorities said it was racially motivated. The attacker picked his victims by their skin colour, according to video evidence seen by police at the time. 'He chose dark skinned people, not white. We are convinced it was a hate crime with a racist perspective,' said Niclas Hallgren, the chief of police in Trollhättan. He was dressed in a way that suggested a racist background [and] video at the scene showed he acted in a military fashion. His actions and the way he looked draws the mind to the Nazis,' Hallgren told journalists. This is breaking news, with more updates to follow.