Several people were injured after a man armed with a sword attacked a high school in central Sweden on Friday, with one person later taken into custody, authorities said.
The incident occurred in the afternoon at Brinell High School in Fagersta, a town of around 13,000 people. The school has approximately 450 students aged between 16 and 20.
Police said they received an emergency call at around 2.06pm local time reporting suspected serious violence and immediately sent all available resources to the school.
A police spokesperson told Reuters that one person at the scene was subsequently detained and confirmed there was no longer any threat to the public.
The school had only recently reopened following the summer holidays, with the incident occurring on what was the first day of senior high school for some students.
Several other schools and public buildings in Fagersta were also placed under lockdown following the attack as authorities responded to the situation.
Swedish newspaper Expressen, citing unnamed sources, reported that police had shot the suspect. However, Reuters said it could not immediately independently verify the report.
The attack comes about a year after a deadly school shooting in Orebro, also in central Sweden, in which 10 people were killed before the gunman took his own life. It was the deadliest mass shooting in Sweden’s history.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said the Swedish Government was maintaining close contact with police following Friday’s incident.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said police were working intensively to establish what had happened and urged the public to allow authorities and emergency services to carry out their work without disruption.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected,” he said in a social media post.
Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson also expressed solidarity with those affected, saying that the whole of Sweden stood with Fagersta during the difficult situation.
