A 16-year-old girl armed with knives attempted a school massacre in Nybro, Sweden, but was stopped by quick-thinking teachers. The girl, who had a history of similar incidents, claimed she was driven by voices urging her to kill. She now faces trial for attempted murder and other charges.
16-Year-Old's Chilling School Attack Plan Thwarted by Heroic Teachers
16-Year-Old's Chilling School Attack Plan Thwarted by Heroic Teachers
A 16-year-old girl arrived at her former school armed with two knives, intending to murder an entire class. She now faces trial in Kalmar District Court.
It was just after 9:30 AM on Friday, May 23, when a taxi stopped outside Fagerslätt School in Nybro, a primary and middle school.
The girl, who had previously attended the school, was armed with two kitchen knives and three razor blades. She was ready to carry out the school massacre she had planned for several days.
Police later discovered she had made several "remarkable searches" on Google, including "Need to kill someone quickly and smoothly" and "Which knife is best suited for murder?"
The girl entered the school and encountered a class of first-graders—fifteen seven-year-olds and their two teachers—in a narrow corridor. The children were heading out for recess.
Heroic Action by Teachers
The 16-year-old approached the children with a knife in each hand.
"The children told her she was scaring them, and the teacher asked her to put the knives away because the children were frightened. The girl replied, 'That's the point,'" prosecutor Nina Erlandsson previously told Barometern.
One of the teachers then tackled the girl to the ground—a life-saving heroic act, according to the prosecutor. The other teacher secured the children in a classroom.
According to the prosecutor, a completed school attack was only seconds away.
A large number of police patrols were dispatched to the scene, and the girl was apprehended.
"What are you doing here?" one of the officers asked.
"I was going to kill people," the girl replied.
"You were going to kill people?"
"Yes."
"Okay, why?"
"Because of how they treated me."
A newly written note was found on the girl's mobile phone.
"I get sad and angry because I didn't get help when it all started and that I was sad at school for so long," she had written.
Previously Armed with a Knife at Another School
The police investigation also uncovered two previous incidents involving the girl's name.
In November 2021, when the girl was 13, she threatened two girls with a knife at another school, Paradisskolan in Nybro. The girls were in a gym class when she entered with a large butcher knife.
According to the police report, she approached one of the girls and said, "You will die."
But another student managed to disarm her and alert teachers who evacuated the area. Again, the girl was tackled by a teacher, and afterward, she said, "I hear voices telling me to kill someone."
In May 2023, it happened again.
The then 14-year-old girl entered the school cafeteria at lunchtime, armed with two large knives in one hand—a bread knife and a butcher knife.
According to the report, she confronted four students sitting at a table, but two teachers intervened and managed to wrest the knives from her hand. One of the teachers described the girl as appearing "in a psychosis."
On July 24, the 16-year-old was charged in Kalmar District Court. She is suspected of attempted murder of 17 people and serious violations of the knife law.
Began Hearing Voices Three Years Ago
In police interviews, the girl claimed she began hearing voices three years ago.
"The voices tell me to kill people and hurt people to feel good in life and escape the thoughts. The voices can come at any time, whether it's stressful or calm," she said.
She also said she planned to cut the children either in the throat or stomach.
The 16-year-old has undergone a forensic psychiatric examination, which shows she suffered from a severe mental disorder both at the time of the examination and when she committed the act.
The forensic psychiatric report states there is a risk of "recurrence of serious crime" due to the mental disorder, and it is concluded that there are grounds for her to receive forensic psychiatric care.
The trial against the 16-year-old concludes in Kalmar District Court on Thursday.