A student was shot at a school in Trångsund earlier on Wednesday.
Something that means a dark day and a new step for Swedish society, says Rasmus Lenefors (S), chairman of the elementary school board in Huddinge municipality.
– The gross and deadly violence has entered the schools, he says.
Wednesday’s shooting at a school in Trångsund south of Stockholm has stirred emotions.
A 15-year-old student was taken to hospital by ambulance and a student of the same age has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
– It has of course been a dark day where staff and students have gone through something terrible, says Rasmus Lenefors (S), chairman of the primary school board in Huddinge municipality.
“New location in Sweden”
During the day, the municipality offered support in the form of psychologists and counselors. Police and field workers have also been at the school after the incident.
– We note that we are in a new situation in Sweden, where gross and deadly violence has entered the schools. And it is something that the entire force of society must fight, says Rasmus Lenefors.
Education Minister Lotta Edholm (L) also takes the incident seriously.
– It is clear that we are all very worried about the crime that we have seen spread for quite a long time. But I think it’s important to say that the event is very unusual and we don’t know the background to it yet, she says.
Increased violence in Swedish schools
She says that reports of violence and threats at schools have doubled in the last ten years – and the problems are greater than in many other comparable countries.
– We still have a problem, and it is the confidentiality rules that we have to break down. So that school, social services and police can exchange information with each other.
Rasmus Lenefors agrees that it is a key to the solution. He emphasizes that the increased access to weapons among young people is the biggest cause of the problem.
– A 15-year-old should not have access to weapons. And it is clear that it is a problem that is not the school’s to solve, but something that the whole society must mobilize around.