A teacher is dead and at least three other people are seriously wounded in southern Sweden, where a masked man armed with a sword or knife attacked a school Thursday. The attacker was shot by police and is at the same hospital as his victims.
A second teacher and two students – ages 11 and 15 – underwent surgery after sustaining severe injuries, according to the NAL hospital in Trollhättan, where the attacks happened Thursday morning. The suspect in the case is also undergoing surgery, the hospital says.
There have been conflicting reports of what type of weapon the attacker used. "Police spokesman Stefan Gustafsson said the attacker was in his twenties and used 'several knife-like objects,' " according to Swedish news site The Local.
The attack took place in the cafeteria area of the Kronan school, a primary school that's situated in a cultural center. The building also includes a library.
"Around 400 pupils are understood to be taught at the school, aged between six and fifteen," The Local reports.
According to Swedish media cited by the AP, the deadly attack came shortly after a discussion about "teachers' worries that the school was too open, with a cafe for adults that meant the school could not control who comes in." The report adds that the school has its own cafeteria — but that the students had to walk through the main cafe to reach it.
The attack set off chaos at the school, with a large police and emergency response. Photos from the scene show that one ambulance crashed into a wall in the parking area next to the cultural center's entrance.
A teenager who attends the school and witnessed part of the attack described the scene to The Local:
"I was in a classroom with my class when one of my classmates' sisters called her to warn her that there was a murderer at the school. So we locked the door to the classroom, but our teacher was still outside in the corridor." "We wanted to warn him, so a few of us went outside and then I saw the murderer, he was wearing a mask and had a sword. Our teacher got stabbed. "The murderer started chasing me, I ran into another classroom. If I had not run, I would have been murdered. I'm feeling really scared. Everyone's scared here."
Responding to news of the attack, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said, "This is a black day for Sweden."
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