An 18-year-old student has been charged with murder following a sword attack at Brinell School in Fagersta, Sweden, on Friday. The assailant, identified as Liam Nebel, allegedly stormed the school with a sword just days after the start of the academic year.
Nebel, who was a student at the school and possessed an access card, is accused of entering the premises during school hours. The fatal victim was a 17-year-old girl, who was found deceased inside the school. Two teenage boys sustained severe injuries, while a third student was released from the hospital. Nebel was formally charged on Sunday afternoon. The town of Fagersta, located approximately 100 miles northwest of Stockholm, has a population of 12,000.
Police are investigating a photograph of a sword posted to a TikTok account roughly 20 minutes before the attack, which reportedly appeared to be taken within the school's bathrooms. This TikTok account had allegedly featured numerous videos paying tribute to mass murderers. A police source indicated that investigators are examining online communities that might have encouraged the suspect.
Nebel was reportedly dressed in a manner similar to Anton Lundin Pettersson, who carried out a fatal sword attack at a school in Trollhättan in 2015, killing a student and a teacher. While police apprehended and detained Nebel after shooting at him without hitting him, they have stated they do not yet know the motive for the attack and have no reason to believe others were involved. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has described the incident as serious and stated that police are working intensively to uncover the circumstances.
The school had recently reopened after summer holidays, and for some students, the attack occurred on their first day back. It took approximately 10 minutes for police to arrive at the scene after the alarm was raised. Students described hearing alarms, seeing police flood the building, and experiencing a lockdown of about five hours. One student recounted seeing an individual covered in blood and being advised to call the police.