A “suspected terrorist crime” was being investigated in a southern Swedish city after a man assaulted at least eight people on Wednesday, police said.
A man in his 20s attacked people in the small town of Vetlanda, about 118 miles southeast of Goteborg, Sweden’s second largest city, police said.
The man was shot by the police, who said the situation of the attacked and the perpetrator was unknown. The authorities did not immediately provide further details.
Swedish media reported that the attacker used an ax.
Regional police chief Malena Grann said at a news conference that a suspect was arrested after “the police opened fire”. Local police chief Jonas Lindell said the suspect was admitted to the hospital.
“As it stands now, we have started a preliminary investigation into attempted murder,” said Grann. “This is the criminal classification we have. There are details in the investigation that make us investigate any terrorist motives, but at the moment I cannot go into details.”
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Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven condemned “this terrible act” and added that Sweden’s internal security agency, SAPO, is also working on the case.
“They are continually assessing whether there are reasons to take increased security measures and are prepared to do so if necessary,” he said in a statement, according to the Swedish news agency TT.