By Philip O’Connor, Johan Ahlander and Simon Johnson
FAGERSTA, Sweden, Aug 21 (Reuters) – An 18-year-old man armed with a sword attacked students at a Swedish high school on Friday, killing one person and injuring three, and police shot and detained him as media reported the attacker was a former student at the school.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon at the Brinell high school in the central Swedish town of Fagersta, which has about 13,000 residents. The school had just reopened after summer recess, and for some students, it was their first day.
“We received an alarm at 1406 (1206 GMT) about suspected deadly violence and sent all available resources to the school,” a police spokesperson told Reuters.
Police told a press conference that the suspect was an 18-year-old man whom they shot and took into custody.
Public broadcaster SVT, citing unnamed sources, reported that the attacker was a former student at the school who wielded a sword and wore a helmet. The person had a previous conviction for assault, SVT said.
The local health authority said two victims were teenage boys who were severely injured. A third injured person was released from hospital.
(Reporting by Johan Ahlander, Marie Mannes, Simon Johnson and Niklas Pollard, writing by Louise Rasmussen and Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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