Sweden school attack: police investigate racist motive

Two people were killed and three others injured after a masked man wielding a sword attacked a school in western Sweden yesterday morning in an apparent hate crime.

The attacker, who has been identified by the Swedish press as 21-year old Anton Lundin Pettersson, was shot by police at Kronan school in the small town of Trollhattan and later died in hospital.

What happened?

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The assailant entered Kronan school wearing a mask and black clothes, and carrying a long sword and other knives, witnesses told The Local newspaper. The attack began in the school cafeteria at 10am yesterday morning. Police said one male teacher died at the scene and a 17-year old pupil later died of his wounds in hospital. A 14-year-old boy and a 41-year-old teacher were injured and remain in a critical condition.

The killer, who was wearing a Darth Vader-like mask, stopped to pose with two pupils before continuing his attack, according to the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. The pupil who took the photograph told the newspaper that they thought it was a Halloween prank and did not realise the blood on his sword was real.

Students locked themselves in their classrooms, with some pupils running out into the corridor to warn their teacher. "[We] went outside and then I saw the murderer," one pupil told local media. "He was wearing a mask and had a sword. Our teacher got stabbed. The murderer started chasing me, I ran into another classroom. I'm feeling really scared. Everyone's scared here."

Local photojournalist Stefan Benhage described scenes of "complete chaos" as terrified students ran out of the school screaming and crying. The primary and secondary school is believed to have 400 pupils, aged between six and fifteen. The names of the victims have not been released.

Who was the attacker and what was his motive?

Local media have described Pettersson, who lived in Trollhattan, as a quiet young man with a hostility to Islam and immigration. "He was a loner. He played video games, lived in his own world," a former classmate told the Swedish tabloid Expressen.

Police have confirmed to local media that they are investigating reports that the killer held far right beliefs and that he selected the location of the attack and his victims "on the basis of ethnicity". Aftonbladet newspaper reports that the victims all had "foreign backgrounds," but this has not been confirmed by police.

The small industrial town of Trollhattan, like much of Sweden, is home to increasing numbers of immigrants and refugees. Although sporadic anti-immigrant violence has broken out in some parts of the country, Trollhattan "is not a nationally notorious hotspot for violent or race-related crimes," says The Local.

What has the response been?

Deadly attacks in schools are extremely rare in the Scandinavian country and Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has called it a "dark day for Sweden". He travelled to the scene of the attack yesterday to lay a bouquet of flowers.

"I think of the victims and their families, students and staff, and the whole of the affected community. No words can describe what they are going through right now. We must ensure that they receive all the support they need," he said.

A crowd of people gathered outside the school to pay their respects to the victims yesterday evening. One mother told The Guardian that her seven-year old daughter was terrified of the horror she had witnessed. "My daughter ... has been crying and talking the whole day about the blood she saw," said Amal Ahmed.

"We are from Iraq," she added. "We left our country for security here in Sweden. We don't want violence, especially for our kids."