Teacher killed, students wounded in attack on Swedish school

A masked man attacked a school in southern Sweden on Thursday before being shot by police. Health authorities said one teacher was killed and two students seriously wounded in the attack.

A police officer speaks to onlookers standing outside a cordoned area after a masked man attacked people with a sword at a school in Trollhattan, western Sweden on Thursday. Bjorn Larsson Rosvall / Reuters/ TT News Agency
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COPENHAGEN, DENMARK // A masked man attacked a school in southern Sweden on Thursday before being shot by police. Health authorities said one teacher was killed and two students seriously wounded in the attack.

Students fled Thursday morning from the Kronan school in Trollhattan, near Gothenburg, Sweden’s second-largest city. In a statement, police in Trollhattan said the attack took place in the school’s cafeteria.

Health authorities in Trollhattan said in a statement that one teacher died after being wounded in the attack and two students, ages 11 and 15, were seriously wounded with cuts. They said the attacker was also in serious condition.

Police earlier said four students had been wounded. It was not possible to immediately rectify the differing accounts.

The school has 400 students, ranging from preschool to high school.

Swedish media said the school held a meeting Thursday morning to discuss teachers’ worries that the school was too open, with a cafe for adults that meant the school could not control who comes in.

The Dagens Nyheter newspaper said students must go through the cafe to reach the school's own cafeteria and other parts of the building.

* Associated Press