Crime & Public Safety
Second suspect arrested in Sweden school attack
A second person has been arrested over a sword attack at a Swedish high school that killed a 17-year-old girl and wounded three boys, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Sweden's Prosecution Authority said the person was suspected of being an accomplice to murder and attempted murder in Fagersta on August 21. It gave no other details.
An 18-year-old student at Brinell school in Fagersta, identified in court documents as Liam Nebel, is already in custody on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
The attack happened last Friday at the school in central Sweden. Three boys were wounded, including two aged between 12 and 17 who remain in serious condition in hospital.
Police initially said they had no reason to believe there were multiple perpetrators. They have also said they are working to establish a motive.
Media reported that police were investigating a TikTok account said to belong to the attacker. AFP viewed the account before it was deleted and found several videos glorifying school attacks. The last update showed a photo of a sword on the floor of what Sweden's main daily Dagens Nyheter said was a Brinell school bathroom.
Students who witnessed the attack told media that the attacker wore a helmet, dark clothes and carried a sword. The details recalled an October 2015 school attack in the western town of Trollhattan, where a sword-wielding 21-year-old killed three people in a racially motivated assault.
Update
A second person has been arrested over the Fagersta school sword attack.
Prosecutors said the second person is suspected of being an accomplice to murder and attempted murder.
Court documents identify the 18-year-old student already in custody as Liam Nebel.
Source note: AFP news report published on 26 August 2026 at 08:35:14 UTC.
Update
Police clarified that officers shot at the suspect before detaining him, but that he was not hit.
Source note: AFP news report published on 24 August 2026 at 10:49:41 UTC.
Update
An 18-year-old suspect was remanded in custody by Vastmanland District Court on probable cause suspected of murder and attempted murder.
Police identified the person killed as a 17-year-old girl.
Three boys were wounded, two of them seriously.
Police had conducted about 80 interviews by Saturday and planned to question nearly all school staff and students.
Two addresses linked to the attacker in Fagersta were searched.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 August 2026 at 11:14:38 UTC.
Update
Police identified the arrested suspect as an 18-year-old man.
Police said they were working to establish a motive and had no reason to believe there were multiple perpetrators.
The healthcare authority said two boys aged 12 to 17 were in stable condition, with one in emergency surgery.
SVT reported the perpetrator had a previous assault conviction and wore a helmet and carried a sword.
Police were investigating a TikTok account reportedly belonging to the attacker, according to media; AFP said it viewed videos referencing school attacks and a final update showing a sword before the account was removed.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 20:02:39 UTC.
Update
Local police chief Tommy Alriksson said police shot and arrested the assailant.
Police said three people were wounded in addition to the person killed, with two seriously wounded.
Police said one person was found dead after officers entered the school.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 19:27:32 UTC.
Update
Swedish police said one person had died after the school sword attack.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 19:10:32 UTC.
Update
SVT reported that the attacker had a previous assault conviction and wore a helmet while carrying a sword.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson cancelled a planned evening speech to focus on the incident.
TT reported that worried parents gathered outside the school, including one mother whose daughter said students had been locked in the library.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 17:21:15 UTC.
Update
The two seriously wounded people were boys aged between 12 and 17.
One of the seriously wounded boys was in emergency surgery, and both were in stable condition, the healthcare authority said.
The school lockdown was later lifted, according to the local authority.
Aftonbladet reported that the attacker was an 18-year-old former student, citing unidentified sources.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 16:13:45 UTC.
Update
Jonas Cederberg said two people were seriously wounded.
Cederberg said another person whose injuries had not yet been assessed was on the way to hospital.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 15:37:40 UTC.
Update
A healthcare official told AFP that at least three people were wounded in the Swedish school attack.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 15:30:03 UTC.
Update
Police said they received reports of the attack just after 2:00 pm local time.
Fagersta municipality postponed a planned news conference because a rescue operation was still ongoing.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the motive was not yet known and police were working intensively.
Opposition leader Magdalena Andersson expressed support for those affected.
SVT reported the school has 447 students.
Fagersta municipality said in May that students at Brinellskolan had been sent home after a threat to the school.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 14:52:28 UTC.
Update
Police were searching Brinellskolan after the attack, according to Fagersta municipality.
Other schools in the area were locked down, the municipality said.
Aftonbladet reported that a person wielding a machete had been shot in the leg by police.
SVT reported ambulances, police cars and a police helicopter outside the school.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 13:30:33 UTC.
Update
The attack took place at Brinellskolan in Fagersta municipality in central Sweden.
Fagersta municipality said the assailant had been detained by police.
Aftonbladet reported that a person wielding a machete had been shot by police.
Source note: AFP news report published on 21 August 2026 at 13:16:29 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Prosecutors gave no details about the second person arrested.
The motive remains under investigation.
The TikTok account was reported to belong to the attacker, but that ownership is not stated as confirmed.
Source
AFP news report published on .