stockholm, swedenReuters —
– A man with a sword injured several people at a Swedish high school on Friday, and one person was later taken into custody, local authorities said.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon at Brinell High School, a school for about 450 students aged 16 to 20 in Fagersta, a town of about 13,000 people in central Sweden.
“At 14:06 (12:06 GMT) we received an alert of suspected deadly violence and sent all available resources to the school,” a police spokesperson told Reuters.
A spokesperson said one person at the scene was later taken into custody and was no longer a danger to the public.
Schools had just opened after summer vacation, and for some students, it was the first day of high school.
Several other schools and public buildings in Fagersta were also sealed off after the sword attack.
Daily newspaper Expressen reported, citing unnamed sources, that police shot and killed the suspect in the incident, but Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
The incident occurred one year after the school shooting in Orebro, also in central Sweden. A gunman killed 10 people before turning the gun on himself in the deadliest mass shooting in Sweden’s history.
The Swedish government is in close contact with police following Friday’s attack, Justice Minister Gunnar Stromer said in a statement to Reuters.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said police were working intensively on the incident and urged everyone to allow police and emergency services to operate unhindered.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected,” he wrote in a post on social media X.
Magdalena Andersson, leader of the Social Democratic Party, whose centre-left coalition holds a clear lead in opinion polls ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections, said: “All of Sweden stands in solidarity with Fagersta in this difficult time.”
“Police continue to operate at the scene using a range of resources. The public is asked to respect roadblocks and follow police instructions.”
