FAGERSTA: An 18-year-old man armed with a sword attacked students at a Swedish high school on Friday, killing one person and injuring three. Police shot and detained him, telling media that the attacker was a former student at the school.

The incident occurred at the Brinell high school in the central Swedish town of Fagersta, which has about 13,000 residents. The school had just reopened after summer recess, and for some students, it was their first day.

Police told a press conference that the suspect was an 18-year-old man whom they shot and took into custody on suspicion of murder.

Police chief Tommy Alriksson said the force responded quickly to incident at the school, which has 450 students aged 16 to 20.

“The first patrol entered and let us know that the perpetrator was subdued with gunfire,” he said.

Public broadcaster SVT reported the attacker, wearing a helmet and carrying a sword, was a former student at the school with a previous conviction for assault.

The local health authority said two victims were teenage boys who were severely injured.

“First it was just a regular day really. But then ... I saw a guy all covered in blood, at least down his back anyway. Then I saw the police and they flooded in,” one student, Nellie, said alongside her mother Agnes Strandberg after a five-hour lockdown at the school.

Another student, Abdulrahem Salmo, said he had seen a victim with a bloody stab wound in the arm.

“Then people called the police and we just all ran from there because we were afraid,” he told SVT.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2026