Sweden school attack: Two teachers killed by a pupil at school in Malmo

Two teachers have been killed by a pupil at a high school in southern Sweden, police have confirmed.

An 18-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene on Monday in Malmo.

The victims were two female teachers in their 50s, police said.

The suspect was not previously known to the police and had no criminal record. Officers did not disclose how the teachers were killed, with a motive yet to be established.

Bouquets of flowers lie outside the Malmo Latin School on March 22, 2022 in Malmoe, Sweden, a day after two women were killed. - Police in Sweden were attempting to determine why an 18-year-old student allegedly killed two teachers at a high school a day earlier in an attack that has shaken the country. Photo by JOHAN NILSSON/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images

"For now it is far too early to comment on that," Malmo police chief Petra Stenkula told a news conference.

She said officers arrived and found the suspect and two victims on the third floor of the Malmo Latin School ten minutes after they were alerted, adding the situation was then "under control".

Ms Stenkula did not confirm a report by the Aftonbladet newspaper, saying the male student himself called authorities to say he had killed two people, had put down his weapons and was on the third floor.

Police made "seizures" and a forensic examination "will allow us to better understand what happened", Ms Stenkula said, adding authorities "have no information" there were more injured.

Police said they were called at 5:12pm on Monday.

Teachers and pupils told local media that police had entered the school with their weapons drawn and ordered them to remain locked in their classrooms for several hours.

Scores of ambulances and patrol cars rushed to the school and armed police were seen entering the building, which was cordoned off.

Pupils at the school, which has about 1,100 students, had gathered to work on a musical.

The motive remains unknown and there is as yet no evidence of an unusual link between the student and two teachers.

Ms Stenkula told reporters the suspect's home was being searched and that police were interviewing other students and looking for any filmed footage that might exist.

About 50 people, both students and teachers, were in the building when the attack took place.

Police evacuated the school and searched its grounds, but found "no indication" of any more perpetrators.

The 18-year-old male suspect had no criminal record or history of suspicious behaviour, police said, but investigations were continuing and police have said they will interview the suspect and many others from the school on Tuesday.

Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said she reacted "with sadness and dismay" over the killings, according to the Swedish news agency TT.

Writing on Facebook, she said: "Now the police and prosecutors must find out what happened, so that the person behind this is held accountable for their actions."

All classes were suspended on Tuesday and the school was closed, Malmo Latin School wrote on its website. Crisis support services are also being made available to students.

The killings took place in a modern annex of the school, which was founded in 1406 when the Pope issued a letter of privilege allowing for its construction and operation.

The facility was originally meant to educate local youth on Christian doctrine and the Latin language.