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Education International
Education International

Swedish teacher and student are killed in school sword attack

published 22 October 2015 updated 23 October 2015

A teacher and a student have been killed and at least two others are reported injured after a man wielding a sword carried out an attack in a school cafe in south-west Sweden.

It is now being reported that one teacher and one student have died, and two others, including a student and a teacher are being treated for serious injuries in the Swedish town of Trollhättan, near Gothenburg. The alleged attacker died at the hospital from gunshot wounds after being shot by police. The attacker, said to be a man in his 20s, has yet to be identified.

Eye witness accounts say that the attacker was wearing a mask when he entered the café.

“What has happened is terrible,” said Johanna Jaara Åstrand, the president of Swedish teachers’ union Lärarförbundet, in a statement. She added that it is crucial that “students, faculty and staff get the support and help they need.”

Jenny Andersson, the president of the Lärarförbundet local branch in Trollhättan, said that department and safety representatives, together with staff from the regional office in nearby Vänersborg, are providing support to teachers and pupils.