A 16-year-old girl in Nybro, Sweden, has been sentenced to psychiatric care after attempting to attack 17 people at her former school. Armed with knives, she was stopped by a teacher before causing harm. The court ruled she must pay significant damages to the victims, highlighting her history of similar threats.
16-Year-Old Girl Sentenced to Psychiatric Care for Attempted School Massacre
16-Year-Old Girl Planned to Kill Children – Sentenced to Care
The 16-year-old girl charged with attempted murder of 17 people at a primary and middle school in Nybro has been sentenced to psychiatric care.
On May 23 this year, the girl entered Fagerslättskolan in Nybro—a school she had previously attended. Armed with two kitchen knives and three razor blades, she walked through the corridors of the primary and middle school.
In one corridor, she encountered an entire class of first graders; fifteen seven-year-olds and their two teachers. The girl then approached the children with a knife in each hand.
While one teacher sheltered the children, the other confronted the teenager and managed to wrestle her down and disarm her. Meanwhile, the teenager attempted to stab her in the abdomen.
“Wants to Murder People”
She told the police she wanted to “murder people” because of how they had treated her, and in her phone notes, she had written before the planned school massacre: “I want to kill people in really grotesque ways.” According to the police, she had also conducted several searches on different ways to kill someone.
Sentenced to Care – and Must Pay Millions in Damages
During the police investigation, the girl underwent a psychiatric evaluation. It showed she suffered from a severe mental disorder both at the time of the examination and when she committed the act.
The girl is now sentenced to psychiatric care and must also pay damages to both the teachers and the children. The crime is classified as preparation for murder and attempted murder.
To the teacher who wrestled her down, the girl must pay damages of approximately 220,000 SEK. The seven-year-olds and another teacher present at the scene are to receive damages of 75,000 SEK each.
In total, the amount is about 1.4 million SEK.
“Did Everything in Their Power”
The court also ruled that the teenager's guardians should share part of the damages with her, which they opposed.
According to the verdict, the guardians claimed they “did everything in their power and took all measures in recent years to prevent the current incident from occurring.”
Previously Threatened Children with Knives
This was not the first time the girl had threatened children with knives. In the police investigation system, two previous cases were found. One when the girl was 13 years old and another when she was 14. Both times she approached other children with knives in her hands but was stopped by teachers.
In the psychiatric evaluation, it is assessed that there is a risk the girl will relapse into serious criminal behavior in the future.
READ MORE: It was the girl's third attempt