One person was killed and three others injured on Friday when an 18-year-old man armed with a sword attacked students at a school in Fagersta, central Sweden, before police shot and detained him.
Officers responding to the attack at Brinell High School shot the suspect and took him into custody on suspicion of murder.
The school, which has around 450 students aged between 16 and 20, had only just reopened after the summer break, with some students returning for their first day.
Local police chief Tommy Alriksson said officers reached the school quickly after receiving reports of the attack.
"The first patrol entered and let us know that the perpetrator was subdued with gunfire," he told a news conference.
Two of the injured victims were teenage boys who were seriously injured, according to the local health authority. A third injured person was treated and released from hospital.
Students described a sudden shift from an ordinary school day to scenes of fear and confusion.
"First it was just a regular day really. But then ... I saw a guy all covered in blood," student Nellie told Reuters, describing how police arrived at the school.
Another student, Abdulrahem Salmo, said he saw a person with a bloody stab wound to the arm before students fled the area.
Several other schools and public buildings in Fagersta were initially placed under lockdown as police responded to the attack.
Swedish public broadcaster SVT, citing unnamed sources, reported that the suspect was a former student at the school and had a previous conviction for assault.
Local media also reported that police were investigating a TikTok account that had posted a picture of a sword about 20 minutes before the attack. The account was later removed.
Dagens Nyheter reported that the image appeared to have been taken inside a school toilet, based on details visible in the background.
Police have not publicly confirmed the reported social media links.
The attack has shaken Fagersta, a town of about 13,000 people.
Mayor Åsa-Märta Sjöström said the immediate priority was to support students and staff.
"Our and the school's main focus right now is to take care of our students and our employees," she said.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson cancelled a speech scheduled for Saturday, while King Carl XVI Gustaf said he had received news of the attack "with dismay and sadness".
The incident comes after a number of deadly attacks at Swedish schools in recent years.
In February 2025, Sweden experienced its worst mass shooting when a gunman killed 10 people at a school in Örebro before taking his own life.
In 2015, a masked attacker armed with a sword killed a teaching assistant and two students at a school in Trollhättan. Police later said the attack was racially motivated.
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