Updated 2.15pm
A TEACHER HAS died following a knife attack at a school in southwest Sweden.
A man brandishing a sword and reportedly wearing a Star Wars mask entered the building before 10am. He started to attack people with the sword and multiple other knives, according to news agency TT.
Two children and another teacher were also injured by a masked man with a sword. The two boys – aged 11 and 15 – are in critical condition in hospital. The second teacher is being operated on in a local hospital.
The attacker – a man in his 20s – was shot by police and is currently receiving treatment.
Police were alerted about the incident at 10.10am and have already identified the attacker. They have not disclosed any information about him and the motive for the attack remains unclear.
Media reports said the assailant was wearing a Star Wars mask, and school children initially thought it was a prank or a Halloween costume.
“When we first saw him, we thought it was a joke. He was wearing a mask and black clothes and (carrying) a long sword. Some students wanted to take their picture with him and feel the sword,” one unidentified student told TT.
When the man started attacking people, he quickly realised it wasn’t a joke and fled as the assailant went from classroom to classroom looking for victims.
Police said there was “a lot of confusion” at the school, saying there were still pupils and teachers inside more than two hours after the attack.
The Kronan school has some 400 students aged between six and 15.
Trollhattan is an industrial town of 57,000 and is home to the former Swedish carmaker Saab which filed for bankruptcy in 2012.
With reporting by AFP
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