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Swedish school killer 'was wearing make-up'

The Local Sweden
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Swedish school killer 'was wearing make-up'
The Kronan school in Trollhättan, Sweden. Photo: Adam Ihse/TT

Swedish police have described the moment they shot dead a 21-year-old swordman who killed two in an attack on a school in Trollhättan in western Sweden in October.

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Two officers fired fatal shots at Anton Lundin Pettersson, just moments after he stabbed a pupil and a teaching assistant to death and wounded two others on October 22nd.

An investigation was launched, as is routine when suspects are injured by police, but it was dropped by the prosecutor who found the two officers had acted correctly.

But documents from the probe, uncovered by Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, on Friday revealed the full extent of the dramatic turn of events at the Kronan school.

The pair, who were the first to arrive at the scene, described how they met the killer in a staircase leading up to the first floor of the school building.

"We shout 'police'. The assailant turns around and walks towards us," one of the police officers told the investigation.

"He has a sword in one hand. He walks towards us quickly."

READ ALSO: Who was Sweden's far-right school killer?


Anton Lundin Pettersson. Photo: Facebook

The officers then fired their weapons at the same time, hitting Lundin Pettersson in the stomach. Describing the situation as unreal, they told how they were forced to resort to handcuffs when he next resisted help when they tried to stop the bleeding.

They pulled off his mask and asked him his name. He responded immediately.

"He had a fresh haircut. He had shaved his head on both sides. He was wearing new boots and a helmet. He was playing loud music, real hard rock music. He was wearing make-up. He looked like a punker," one of the officers said.

"He looked exactly like those movies from school shootings in the US that we've seen, the same style. That's what's so absurd."

Asked if they could have refrained from shooting Lundin Pettersson, the police both answer no.

"If we hadn't we would have been injured ourselves. (…) And it's my belief that… he had dressed up for the day. He had dressed up, and put on make-up, and was wearing glitter in his hair. It was his big day and I don't think he would have let us stop… If he had had the opportunity he would have wanted to continue," said one of the officers.

Police classified the attack as a hate crime after CCTV footage showed that Lundin Pettersson, a 21-year-old with far-right anti-immigrant sympathies, selected his victims on the basis of their skin colour.

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