Schools in the Swedish town of Fagersta reopened Monday morning, three days after a sword attack at Brinellskolan upper secondary school left a 17-year-old girl dead. Many pupils returned in fear.
DR reports from Fagersta that 14-year-old Waran Mohamed Pawan attends Risbroskolan, the school next door to the attacked upper secondary school. Brinellskolan is still surrounded by police tape, where technicians continue to secure evidence.
According to DR, the pupil described Friday afternoon as filled with police, with students ordered to stay indoors. After about three hours they were allowed out, and she then learned that a friend was wounded and another person had died.
The attack took place on Friday, August 21, 2026, in Fagersta, in Västmanland County. BBC reports that one person was killed and two teenage boys were seriously injured, and that eight other schools were placed under lockdown. Xinhua reports that police received the alarm at 14:06 and classified the incident as ongoing deadly violence.
Suspect remanded in custody
The suspected attacker is 18-year-old Liam Nebel, a student at the school. As reported by SVT, he has been remanded in custody on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. SVT also reports that he wore black clothing, a helmet and a face covering, and entered the building using a key tag.
Police fired shots during the operation but did not hit the suspect, according to Reuters, which describes Fagersta as a town of about 13,000 residents. The Swedish authorities’ emergency information service, Krisinformation.se, states that one person died, three were injured and the perpetrator was arrested, and that there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Brinellskolan remains closed for now, and its students were told to gather in the local sports hall instead of attending class Monday. All other children in the town were expected back at school, DR reports.
Emma Bjørsh, the mother of a Brinellskolan student who also knows one of the wounded boys, told DR that her daughter would show up but would not feel safe. One father said his son almost refused to go. Waran Mohamed Pawan called for guards, staffed main entrances and access cards for pupils.
Police have not announced a motive. Swedish media link the suspect to violence-glorifying online environments, including the so-called True Crime Community, but investigators have not confirmed any group or ideology, according to Al Jazeera and SVT.
Speaking on SVT on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate Party and opposition leader Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats both declined to rule out tighter school security. Andersson said it is necessary to examine whether more restrictions on social media should be introduced. Sweden is in the middle of an election campaign.
