A 17-year-old girl was killed and three other people, two of them seriously injured, were wounded after a young man carrying a sword entered Brinellskolan High School in Fagersta, central Sweden, on Friday afternoon, according to Swedish police and media reports. Fagersta is located about 150 kilometers northwest of Stockholm and has a population of approximately 12,000.
Police received the first report at 2:06 PM of "lively violence in progress" inside the school, which has approximately 450 students. Several police patrols, along with intervention forces and a helicopter, were dispatched to the scene.
Police shoot suspect
Police arrived at the school minutes after receiving the report and were able to stop the suspect at 2:16 PM using a firearm.
According to information published by SVT, the suspect was shot in the leg by police before being arrested. The suspect, who is approximately 18 years old, is being held on suspicion of murder and two attempted murders.
A 17-year-old girl was among the victims.
The victim's family confirmed to the Fagersta-Posten newspaper that the person found dead inside the school by police was a 17-year-old girl.
Three other people were also injured in the attack. SVT reported that two of them, both boys under 18, sustained serious injuries, but their condition was described as serious but stable. The third victim, also a boy, suffered minor injuries and was later discharged from the hospital.
The suspect was a former student at the school.
SVT revealed that the suspect was a former student at Brinellskolan school, which means he knew the school and its surroundings before the attack.
According to information reported by SVT, the young man had previously been convicted of assaulting another student when he was in elementary school, and had also previously been placed in care under the Swedish Youth Welfare Act (LVU).
According to court documents cited by the newspaper Dagens Nyheter, the suspect grew up in unstable family circumstances, and the documents also indicated that he was forced at one point in his life to undergo rigorous combat training.
A picture of a sword appeared before the attack.
Police are also investigating a TikTok account believed to be linked to the suspect, after a picture of a sword-like object was posted on it at 1:41 p.m., about 25 minutes before police received the report of the attack.
According to Sveriges Radio, the account previously contained posts and references to other violent attacks, including the school attack in Trollhättan, the Utøya attack, and the shooting at Risbergska school in Örebro. The account was closed after the attack.
The police have not yet announced that this information proves a direct link between the account and the attack, and therefore this data is still part of the investigation.
Police do not expect another attacker.
Police have not yet found any indication of another perpetrator of the attack, and therefore authorities do not believe there is an ongoing threat associated with another attacker.
Police conducted searches at two locations connected to the case, while investigators continue to gather evidence and interview witnesses to try to determine the motives for the attack and the sequence of events.
The investigation is focusing on the motives for the attack.
Authorities have not yet announced a motive for the attack. Central District Police spokesman Stefan Larsson said the investigation is ongoing and that police will maintain a presence in Fagersta to enhance residents' sense of security.
Other schools have temporarily closed.
The incident led to the temporary closure of several other schools as a security measure, while authorities imposed security measures around the school.
The municipality of Vägersta and the Västmanland region have also opened a crisis center in Risbrohallen to provide support to those affected by the incident.
Political reactions after the attack
The attack sparked widespread reactions in Sweden, and the leader of the Swedish Left Party, Nooshi Dadgostar, cancelled her planned summer speech in Stockholm because of the incident.
The party had planned to organize a large event in the Södermalm district of the capital, with the participation of a number of artists, but decided to cancel it after the attack.
A new attack reignites the debate about school security.
The attack in Fagersta has brought back to the forefront the debate about the security of educational institutions in Sweden, following the mass shooting that occurred in February 2025 inside the Campus Risbergska institution in the city of Örebro.
Ten people were killed in that attack, before the perpetrator committed suicide, making it one of the deadliest attacks in modern Swedish history.
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