By Johan Ahlander
STOCKHOLM, Aug 21 (Reuters) – A man armed with a sword injured several people at a Swedish high school on Friday and one person was later detained, local authorities said.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon at the Brinell high school, which has some 450 students aged 16 to 20, in the town of Fagersta in central Sweden.
“A call was received regarding a case of ongoing deadly violence at a school in Fagersta,” police said in a statement, adding that one person at the scene was later taken into custody.
A police spokesperson told Reuters there was no longer any danger to the public.
Several other schools and public buildings in Fagersta had been placed in lockdown after the sword attack took place.
Citing unnamed sources, the daily Expressen said police had shot the suspect in the case but Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
The incident comes a year after a school shooting in Orebro, also in central Sweden, when a gunman killed 10 people before turning the weapon on himself, in the worst mass shooting in Swedish history.
The Swedish government is in close contact with the police following Friday’s attack, Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said in a statement to Reuters.
“All of Sweden stands together with Fagersta at this difficult time,” said Labour Party leader Magdalena Andersson, whose centre-left coalition holds a clear lead in opinion polls ahead of next month’s parliamentary election.
(Reporting by Johan Ahlander, Simon Johnson, Marie Mannes and Niklas Pollard, writing by Louise Rasmussen and Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje Solsvik and Gareth Jones)
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