Eight people have been injured in a Swedish town after a stabbing attack police say could be terror-related.
A man in his 20s attacked people in the town of Vetlanda, about 210 miles south of the capital Stockholm, on Wednesday afternoon.
Aftonbladet said the weapon used was a knife but the Associated Press reported it was an axe.
Police said people had been stabbed in at least five locations in the town of roughly 13,000 people, and some of the victims were in a serious condition.
The attacker's motive was not clear but Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said terrorism was possible.
Advertisement
He said: "In the light of what has emerged so far in the police investigation, prosecutors have initiated a preliminary investigation into terrorist crimes.
"We confront such heinous acts with the combined force of our society."
More from Sweden
Sweden's domestic security agency SAPO is also working on the case, he said, adding: "They continuously assess whether there are reasons to take security-enhancing measures and are prepared to do so if necessary."
Regional police chief Malena Grann said: "We have started a preliminary investigation of attempted murder but there are details in the investigation that make us investigate possible terror motives."
Asa Karlqvist owns a flower shop in the town and told local newspaper Vetlanda-Posten: "We heard a scream from the street.
"Then we saw a man enter the store, shouting that he had been stabbed.
"Blood was pouring from his shoulder, so we got towels and applied pressure on the wound."
Meanwhile, the attacker is in hospital after being shot by police before he was arrested.
Local police chief Jonas Lindell said "it seems that the injuries are not life-threatening" but he did not give further details.
Police have not identified the attacker publicly but said he was previously known to them for minor crimes.
There is no indication that others were involved in the attack, they added.
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said a possible ‘terrorist’ motive was being investigated.
A man armed with an axe attacked and wounded eight people in a southern town in Sweden on Wednesday before being shot and arrested.
“We heard a scream from the street. Then we saw a man enter the store, shouting that he had been stabbed,” Asa Karlqvist, owner of a florist shop, told local newspaper Vetlanda-Posten.
“Blood was pouring from his shoulder so we got towels and applied pressure on the wound,” she said.
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said a possible “terrorist” motive was being investigated.
“In the light of what has emerged so far in the police investigation, prosecutors have initiated a preliminary investigation into terrorist crimes,” he said.
Shortly after his statement, investigators at a police news conference said they started a preliminary investigation into attempted murder with details “that make us investigate any terrorist motives”.
“But at the moment I cannot go into details,” regional police chief Malena Grann said.
Police said the man in his 20s attacked people in the small town of Vetlanda, 190km (118 miles) southeast of Gothenburg, Sweden’s second-largest city. His motive was not immediately known.
The man was shot by police, who said the condition of those attacked and of the perpetrator was not immediately known. Officials did not provide details on the identity of the suspect, who was taken to hospital.
Local police chief Jonas Lindell said “it seems that the injuries are not life-threatening” but could not give further details.
The events took place in downtown Vetlanda with police saying they got calls just after 14:00 GMT about a man assaulting people with an axe. Police also said there are five crime scenes in this town of roughly 13,000.
Lofven condemned “this terrible act” and added Sweden’s domestic security agency SAPO was also working on the case.
”They continuously assess whether there are reasons to take security-enhancing measures and are prepared to do so if necessary,” he said in a statement.
Another 38 people have been killed in Myanmar as the military tries to quell demonstrations by pro-democracy campaigners against last month's coup, the United Nations said.
It was the bloodiest day since generals seized power on 1 February, with more than 50 people now dead and many others wounded, according to UN special envoy Christine Schraner Burgener.
A human rights group said the military had killed at least 18 on Wednesday but by the end of the day that number had risen sharply.
"It's horrific, it's a massacre. No words can describe the situation and our feelings," youth activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi told the Reuters news agency.
Image:Police stand on a road during an anti-coup protest in Mandalay, Myanmar
Image:Protesters cover with makeshift shields during an anti-coup protest in Mandalay
Four children were reportedly among the latest fatalities, including a 14-year-old boy who was shot dead by a soldier on a passing convoy of military trucks in Myingyan, Radio Free Asia claimed.
Advertisement
Security forces have fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds in several towns and cities to break up protests, giving little warning, witnesses said.
In the main city of Yangon, they claimed at least eight people were killed, one early in the day and seven others in the early evening.
More from Aung San Suu Kyi
Six people died in the central town of Monywa, the Monywa Gazette reported.
And two were killed during clashes at a protest in the country's second-biggest city Mandalay, a witness and media reports said.
Image:A pro-democracy activist displays the three-finger salute, known to be a symbol of resistance
Image:Eight people was reportedly killed when police opened fire in the main city of Yangon
A spokesman for the ruling military council did not answer telephone calls seeking comment, Reuters said.
The security forces detained about 300 protesters as they broke up protests in Yangon, Myanmar Now news agency reported.
According to activists, a total of 1,300 people have been detained, among them six journalists in Yangon.
The violence comes a day after foreign ministers from Myanmar's southeast Asian neighbours urged the military to end the protests but failed to unite behind a call for the military to release ousted government leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said in a statement: "We expressed ASEAN's readiness to assist Myanmar in a positive, peaceful and constructive manner."
Myanmar's state media said the military-appointed foreign minister attended the ASEAN meeting that "exchanged views on regional and international issues", but made no mention of the focus on Myanmar's problems.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Myanmar protesters honour killed comrade
Image:A spokesman for the ruling military council did not answer telephone calls seeking comment
The 1 February coup ended Myanmar's tentative steps towards democratic rule and triggered nationwide protests and international outcry.
Generals seized power, claiming there was fraud in last November's election which the party of de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi won by a landslide.
Analysis: The bullets keep on coming
By Siobhan Robbins, Southeast Asia correspondent
In Myingyan, a 14-year-old has been confirmed dead.
Photos showed a woman, believed to be his mother, sitting beside his body.
It's reported her boy had been shot in the head by a bullet during the protests.
Desperate demonstrators were filmed trying to save him but he didn't have a chance.
In Mandalay, guns and tear gas were also being fired at protesters.
A video shows 19-year-old Ma Kyal Sin crouching down, desperately trying to stay low.
"Everything will be ok" her T-shirt promises - but the bullets keep on coming and Ma Kyal Sin's family is preparing to bury her.
"Before the crackdown, most of us noticed the little sister who got shot from the back of the head because she was very active and at the frontline," said an eyewitness who asked to remain anonymous.
"Then there was a crackdown at 12 and we were running, we were streaming live too. The girl got hit behind her head. It would not be accidentally because of her height. We assumed that she was targeted. Another man also died. They were shooting at us from 12 to the evening."
Around the country, the death toll and injuries being reported continued to rise.
Image:Generals seized power in Myanmar after claiming there was fraud in last November's election
The crackdown has become increasingly brutal - live ammunition is now regularly fired at protesters along with tear gas and rubber bullets.
One especially distressing video from North Okkalapa, Yangon, shows a man in white being led away by police when he suddenly appears to be shot.
When he falls to the ground, his body is viciously kicked and then later he is callously dragged off.
Hein Thar, a journalist at Frontier Myanmar, told Sky News he has witnessed high levels of violence against demonstrators in North Okkalapa.
"They started to shoot with mortars again, not only with rifles and I heard the "dededededede", they continuously shoot," he said. "They don't need to beat people who are lying on the ground but they do. They beat the people who are lying on the ground. They shoot the people."
Frustrated by the ongoing civil disobedience movement and the powerful resistance which it had possibly been underestimated, Myanmar's military is doing what it can to crush the opposition.
"An arms embargo is very important. The reason is the military is using these arms against its own people, the civilians. So no one should sell arms or keep any military to military relations with Burma," said Kyaw Win, director of the Burma Human Rights Network.
The generals who took over the country in February's coup have previously proven they will kill Myanmar's civilians if needed.
How many more will die on the streets which are fast becoming battlefields?
Police in Sweden say they are treating a stabbing incident in Vetlanda as a "suspected terrorist crime".
Authorities first received reports shortly before 3.00 PM CET that several people had been attacked with an "axe" near Bangårdsgatan. The first police patrols arrived at the town's centre 10 minutes later.
Eight people are confirmed to have been injured in the incident, which took place around 190 kilometres from Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city.
One suspect in his 20s was shot by police at the scene and has been arrested.
"The arrested person is injured but the situation is unclear," police said in a statement, adding that the individual was taken to hospital by ambulance.
Initially, police began investigating the incident as attempted murder but confirmed they are now classifying the attack as a "suspected terrorist crime".
"The police have the situation under control in Vetlanda, the most urgent situation is now over and the police's work is now increasingly focused on the investigation work," the authorities have said.
"There is currently no indication of more perpetrators being suspected in this incident".
Police have added that they are in contact with the eight victims, and there are no indications that anyone has died.
An investigation into police action during the arrest of the suspect has also been launched.
"Due to this investigation, the police will not comment further on the arrest and why the police have opened fire," the statement added.
In 2017, five people were killed when a truck was hijacked and deliberately driven into pedestrians on a busy shopping street in the centre of the capital city, Stockholm.
The attack was described as "the biggest crime ever committed" in the country.
A KNIFEMAN has been shot by cops after stabbing eight people in a suspected terror attack in Sweden today, reports say.
The attacker, aged in his 20s, was gunned down and taken to hospital after he went on a stabbing rampage in Vetlanda, in the south of the country.
A man was shot by cops in Sweden today after stabbing eight people in a suspected terror attackCredit: Carl Carlert
The attacker was taken to hospital after reportedly being shot in the legCredit: Mikael Fritzon
Investigators have told local media that the assault was a "possible terrorist act" although no further details have been provided.
The attacker injured eight people - some seriously - with a bladed weapon, a police spokesperson said.
It is unclear if any of the victims are in a critical condition.
Police said in a news conference that the attacker was known to authorities but refused to confirm the type of blade used in the attack.
According to local media, the knifeman was arrested and taken to hospital after being shot in the leg by cops but his condition is not yet known.
Local police chief Malena Grann said: “We are investigating whether there is any terror motive. We are working closely with security police on this."
There were a number of witnesses to the rampage which police were called to at 3pm, reports say.
Some of the victims were seriously injured, reports sayCredit: Carl Carlert
Parts of central Vetlanda have been cordoned off while police carry out their investigation.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven condemned the "horrific violence".
He said: "Tonight I am thinking of those injured in Vetlanda and their relatives.
"I condemn this horrific violence. We are facing these heinous acts with the collective power of society."
Minister of the Interior Mikael Damberg said it is unclear what the man's motive was.
He said: "Several people are seriously injured. These are terrible events and my thoughts go to the victims and their relatives.
"Right now it is unclear exactly what happened and what the motive was. The police have arrested a suspected perpetrator and have initiated a special incident to handle the development of the incident and create security in Vetlanda."
Eight people have been injured in a suspected terrorist stabbings in Sweden.
Police said a man in his 20s launched the knife attack just before 3pm on Wednesday in Vetlanda, a small town in the country's south.
The attacker was shot in the leg by officers and has been taken to hospital where he is receiving treatment under armed guard.
Eight people were inured in the attack, some of them were said to be 'seriously' wounded and required an ambulance.
The assailant's motive remains unclear but police said they are treating it as a 'suspected terrorist crime.'
The attack took place at around 3pm on Wednesday in the small town of Vetlanda in southern Sweden
The local train station was closed at the request of the police and a large number of officers have been sent to carry out patrols of the town of around 13,000 residents.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven condemned the attack as he sent his condolences to the victims and their families.
'Tonight I am thinking of those injured in Vetlanda and their relatives. I condemn this horrific violence. We are facing these heinous acts with the collective power of society,' the PM wrote.
Minister of the Interior Mikael Damberg called the attack 'terrible.'
The government minister said: 'Several people are seriously injured. These are terrible events and my thoughts go to the victims and their relatives.
'Right now it is unclear exactly what happened and what the motive was. The police have arrested a suspected perpetrator and have initiated a special incident to handle the development of the incident and create security in Vetlanda.'
