Sweden's Kristersson cancels campaign speech after school attack

Charlie Duxbury, Bloomberg News on Aug 22, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson canceled a campaign speech for next month’s general election after a sword attack at a school left a 17-year-old girl dead and three others injured.

The attack in the central Swedish town of Fagersta by a suspect who was later shot and detained by police, left local residents and officials in shock and cast a shadow over political campaigning ahead of polling day on Sept. 13. It again threw a spotlight on the issue of law and order in Sweden, which surveys have shown is a key concern for voters.

Kristersson was due to speak just outside Stockholm on Saturday, but said late Friday his focus would instead be “devoted to the work surrounding the incident.”

Police have declined to comment on the motive for the attack by the suspect, who local media said was an 18-year-old former student at the school. The events evoked memories of two previous attacks on schools, one in the western town of Trollhattan in 2015 and another in Orebro last year.

While most of the focus in Sweden has been on criminal gangs rather than lone wolf attacks, both the current government and the opposition Social Democrats have been seeking to convince voters that they can keep society safe by making greater investments in policing and imposing harsher punishments on serious offenders.

Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson called the reports from Fagersta “terrible” and said her thoughts were with those affected. Opposition Left Party politician Nooshi Dadgostar also canceled a planned speech and other campaigning events in Stockholm on Saturday.