Swedish police say two women in their 50s were killed by a high school student
From The Associated Press
Mar 22, 2022 11:51 am
• 2 minutes reading time
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STOCKHOLM – Two teachers were killed by a student at a high school in southern Sweden, police said on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old student was arrested at the scene on Monday in Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city. According to police, the victims were two women in their 50s.
The suspect was not previously known to police and had no criminal record, and police did not disclose how the teachers were killed. A motive was not determined.
“It is far too early to comment at the moment,” said Malmo Police Chief Petra Stenkula at a press conference.
She said officers arrived and found the suspect and two victims 10 minutes after they were alerted on the third floor of the Latin school in downtown Malmo, adding that the situation was then “under control”.
Stenkula did not confirm a report by Aftonbladet newspaper, which said the male student himself called authorities to say he had killed two people, laid down his arms and was on the third floor.
Police have made “seizures” and a forensic investigation “will allow us to better understand what happened,” Stenkula said, adding authorities had no information about further injuries.
Police said they were called at 5:12 p.m. Monday. Scores of ambulances and squad cars rushed to the school and armed police entered the building, which was cordoned off.
Students at the school, which has about 1,100 students, had gathered to work on a musical and students locked themselves in classrooms.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said she responded to the killings “with sadness and dismay,” according to the Swedish news agency TT.
All classes were suspended on Tuesday and the school was closed.
The killings took place in a modern outbuilding of the school, which was founded in 1406 when the Pope issued a charter of privilege allowing its construction and operation. It was originally intended to educate local youth about Christian doctrine and the Latin language.