Second arrest over deadly sword attack at Swedish school

Published on 26/08/2026 - 11:30 GMT+2

A second man has been arrested over a sword attack at a school in central Sweden that left a 17-year-old girl dead and three other students wounded, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

The man is suspected of assisting murder and attempted murder over the attack at Brinell School in Fagersta, northwest of Stockholm, on August 21.

Prosecutors have not disclosed his age or said how he is suspected of being involved. They are expected to decide by noon on Thursday whether to ask a court to detain him or release him.

An 18-year-old student at the school is already in custody on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after allegedly carrying out the attack while classes were under way.

Two boys, aged 12 and 17, were seriously injured, while a third boy under 18 suffered minor injuries and was later discharged from hospital.

Police fired shots during the operation to arrest the suspected attacker but he was not hit.

Investigators initially said they had no reason to believe more than one person carried out the attack and have not publicly identified a motive.

Police are also investigating whether the 18-year-old had links to online communities that glorify school violence.

A TikTok account reportedly belonging to the suspect was taken down after the attack. Before it was removed, it contained videos glorifying school attacks and an image of a sword apparently taken inside a bathroom at Brinell School.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson visited Fagersta on Saturday and joined opposition leader Magdalena Andersson at a memorial to the victim.

“What must never happen has happened again,” Kristersson said.

Sweden has suffered several deadly attacks at schools in recent years.

Eleven people, including the gunman, were killed in a mass shooting at an adult education centre in Örebro in 2025, the deadliest mass shooting in Sweden's history.

In 2022, two female teachers were killed in an attack involving a knife and an axe at a school in Malmö.

Three people were killed in Trollhättan in 2015 when a 21-year-old man armed with a sword attacked a school in what authorities described as a racist hate crime. He was shot dead by police.

Additional sources • AFP, AP