Two teenagers were seriously injured after a sword attack at a high school in Sweden, authorities said. Police were called to Brinell School in Fagersta shortly after 2:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. BST) on Friday, where officers arrested a man. A third person was injured in the attack, but the extent of their injuries has not been confirmed, while local media reports say police shot the suspect in the leg. Eight other schools in the area were placed under closure measures, which have now been lifted. – while after the attack a state of maximum alert was declared in the Vastmanland region. Police have said there is currently no danger to the public. In a post on Brinell School students had just returned to classrooms after summer break, and the new semester began on Monday or Wednesday of this week, depending on the academic year. The school has just under 500 students on its roll, according to Swedish public broadcaster SVT, and is located 170 kilometers (105 miles) northwest of the capital, Stockholm. Sweden has experienced a series of attacks against educational institutions in recent years. The country experienced the worst mass shooting in its history in 2025, where 11 people, including the gunman, were killed at an adult education center in Orebro. This led the government to tighten the country’s gun laws after the suspect was found to legally possess four rifles, three of which were found at the school where the attack took place. Two teachers died in a violent attack at a secondary school in Malmo in 2022; an 18-year-old student later confessed to the attack. In 2015, a teacher and a student were killed in a sword attack at a school in Trollhattan.
