A masked man brandishing a sword and reported to have far-right sympathies killed a teacher and a student and seriously wounded two other people at a school in Sweden today before police shot and killed him.
Pictures taken by students and circulating in the media showed the assailant wearing black clothes and a Darth Vader-like mask, with school children initially thinking it was a prank or a Halloween costume.
Media reports identified the attacker as Anton Lundin Pettersson, describing him as a quiet 21-year-old opposed to Islam and immigration.
"He was a loner. He played video games, lived in his own world," a former classmate told daily Expressen.
The attacker, who went from classroom to classroom at the school for six to 15-year-olds, including many newly-arrived immigrants, in the southwestern town of Trollhattan.
The attack shocked a nation where such violence is rare.
One teacher was found dead at the school -- described in the media as a "problem school" -- while a young male student and the assailant both died in hospital several hours later.
"The assailant knocked on two classroom doors and he attacked the two students who opened the doors," police investigator Thord Haraldsson said.
Hospital staff had previously confirmed that two boys, aged 11 and 15, were in critical condition with stab wounds, while another teacher who was seriously wounded in the attack also underwent surgery.
The assailant was from Trollhattan.
Police have not disclosed his identity nor given any further information about him or the possible motive for the attack.
He did not have a criminal record and was not known to police, said law enforcement officials as police searched his home for clues.
However, Swedish news agency TT and daily Expressen reported that he had a YouTube account where he posted material glorifying Hitler and Nazi Germany and critical of Islam and immigration to Sweden.
The anti-racism magazine Expo meanwhile reported that its police sources said they were investigating a "political motive".
Police were alerted to the attack at 10:10 am (1310 IST).
"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 student identified only as Laith told Swedish television SVT.
