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CRIME

Victims in Malmö school attack were targeted at random, court hears

The 18-year-old student at Malmö Latin who has admitted to killing two female teachers at the school told a court on Tuesday that he attacked at random.

Victims in Malmö school attack were targeted at random, court hears
Flowers and a sign reading "Teachers are the most important" outside Malmö Latin School following the attack in March where two teachers were killed. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

“I was going to do everything at random,” said the attacker, who has not been named.

“The idea was to just attack the first person I saw. Of course, there were certain people I was hoping not to meet,” he told the court.

The 18-year-old has admitted to attacking and killing two teachers at Malmö Latin school on March 21st.

The attacker said he first began thinking about carrying out an attack the day before, on March 20th.

He told the court he had previously considered taking his own life but that a setback in his bid to get a driving licence pushed him to take action.

After he found out he couldn’t take his driving test the next year he locked himself in his bedroom in Trelleborg on the south coast of Sweden.

“That’s when I decided I can’t go on living like this. I’ve wanted to kill myself for a long time. I decided I need to put myself in a situation where there’s no turning back,” he told the court.

That evening he took the decision to carry out a random attack at his school the next day, the student said. He recorded three “farewell” videos that he later deleted.

Attacked ‘at random’

At the end of the school day, the attacker locked himself in a toilet cubicle.

He changed clothes and took weapons – an axe, knives and a hammer – out of his backpack.

He put on a mask, scarf and ear protectors, which he explained were used so he wouldn’t be able to see and hear his victims so clearly.

When a person in the next cubicle came out, the 18-year-old attacked.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t be someone I knew,” he said. “I saw it was my old maths teacher, I stopped, short-circuited.”

The teacher only managed to say “you gave me a fright!” before he inflicted the fatal blows.

He then chased another teacher who witnessed the violence down the corridor and attacked her. She later died of her injuries.

‘I wanted to show that I am a monster’

The attacker then locked himself in the bathroom and called the police before handing himself in.

When the prosecutor asked why he hadn’t sought psychological help he said: “I didn’t think it would help, I don’t deserve to talk to someone. Asking for help was out of the question.”

“I wanted to show that I am a monster,” he said.

The court hearing in Malmö will continue throughout the week.

As the minor mental examination already carried out on the 18-year-old has concluded that he may be suspected of having a serious mental disorder, his lawyer Anders Elison expects that his client will undergo a major forensic psychiatric examination before being sentenced.

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CRIME

Sweden jails best-selling thriller writer for tax evasion

The Stockholm appeals court sentenced Håkan Nesser, one of Sweden's best-selling contemporary thriller writers, to 18 months' jail for tax evasion on Friday. His wife received the same sentence.

Sweden jails best-selling thriller writer for tax evasion

The court found the couple guilty of not declaring to the tax authorities the transfer of nearly 13 million Swedish kronor ($1.23 million) from companies in Malta between 2013 and 2015.

“We’re in shock and we feel like we’ve been run over by a tank,” Nesser said.

He said he had hired an accountant to manage his financial affairs.

The crime writer was acquitted in the first instance in the spring of 2023.

At the time, the court accepted the author’s argument that the transfers had occurred through ignorance of tax rules.

Nesser has written 48 books that have sold some 20 million copies worldwide.

His first book was published in 1988.

His works, several of which have been adapted for the big screen or for television, have been translated into more than 20 languages.

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