8 injured in suspected terrorist stabbings in Sweden
Police shoot suspect in the leg during attack in city of Vetlanda, say he used a ‘sharp weapon’ to carry out assault
STOCKHOLM — A man attacked eight people with a “sharp weapon,” seriously injuring two, in the Swedish city of Vetlanda on Wednesday, police said, in what they called a suspected terrorist crime.
The assailant was taken to the hospital after being shot in the leg by police when he was taken into custody, following the attack in the southern Swedish city in mid-afternoon.
Speaking to AFP, police said the man in his twenties had used a “sharp weapon,” while local media reported the man had brandished a knife.
Police originally treated the incident as “attempted murder” but later changed it, in a statement, to a “suspected terrorist crime,” without giving further details.
A press conference was announced for 8 p.m. local time.
BREAKING: 8 wounded in stabbing attack in #Vetlanda #Sweden. Investigation escalated from attempted murder to suspected terrorist attack. Police have shot the perp. pic.twitter.com/D8sukZk44D
— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) March 3, 2021
In Sweden, the intelligence services consider the terrorist threat to be high.
The Scandinavian country has been targeted twice by attacks in recent years.
In December 2010, a man carried out a suicide bomb attack in the center of Stockholm. He was killed but only slightly injured passers-by.
In April 2017, a rejected and radicalized Uzbek asylum seeker mowed down pedestrians in Stockholm with a stolen truck, killing five people. He was sentenced to life in jail in June 2018.
The Times of Israel Community.