Teacher, student killed in stabbing attack on Swedish school

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- A knife-wielding masked man stabbed four people Thursday at a school in southern Sweden, killing a teacher and a student before being shot dead by police, authorities said.

Students fled from the Kronan school in Trollhattan, near Goteborg, Sweden's second-largest city, as the attack took place in a nearby cafe just after 10 a.m., police said.

The school has 400 students, ranging from preschool to high school.

Police arrived to find one teacher already dead and two students -- ages 11 and 15 -- and another teacher seriously wounded, police spokesman Thomas Fuxborg said.

One of the students and the attacker died later at the hospital, authorities said.

Police fired two shots, one of which hit the attacker, a 21-year-old man from Trollhattan, Fuxborg said. The attacker's motive was not known, he added.

The attacker had at least one large knife and possibly two, including what may have been a sword, another police spokesman, Stefan Gustavsson, said.

He said authorities knew the attacker had killed the teacher "because of the wounds he had."

Investigators declined to be more specific about the weapons used.

Laith Alazze, a 14-year-old student at Kronan, said at first he thought the attacker -- who was clad in black with a mask -- had something to do with Halloween.

"One of my friends walked over to him to challenge him, but when we saw he stabbed him (the teacher), we ran away," Alazze told Sweden's TV4.

The attacker had gunshot wounds to his lower chest and died later Thursday at the hospital, officials said.

Police spokeswoman Maria Randsalu said the second victim was a male student but did not identify him.

The three wounded victims all underwent surgery at the Norra Alvsborgs Lanssjukhus hospital.

Dr. Lars Spetz told reporters the teacher had been stabbed in the abdomen, while the two students were stabbed in the abdomen, liver and chest.

Swedish media said the school held a meeting Thursday morning to discuss teachers' fears the school was too open.

The Dagens Nyheter newspaper said students must go through a public cafe to reach the school's cafeteria and other parts of the building.