35-Year-Old Man in Sweden Injures Police Officer with Sword
A routine patrol was turned into a life-threatening situation on Sunday in the Österängen residential area in Jönköping, Sweden. The police received a call regarding a 35-year-old man showing signs of mental illness, according to a report by TV4 Nyheterna.
Upon arrival at the man’s apartment, officers discovered he had left and was in a nearby wooded area with a sharp weapon, suspected to be a sword. When they encountered the man in the woods, a scuffle ensued, resulting in one officer being seriously injured. The other officer fired his service weapon, with witnesses reporting five to six shots.
Dagens Nyheter reported that the injured policeman is between 20-29 years old and had been on duty for two years.
Upon his arrest, the 35-year-old was found to also be carrying a firearm. Both the suspect and the injured police officer were taken to the hospital, with the police officer’s injuries initially deemed life-threatening.
The preliminary investigation is being conducted as an attempted murder and serious weapons offense. Additionally, a misconduct investigation is being initiated, as is routine when a police officer fires their service weapon.
Kristoffer Axell, head of local police area Södra Vätterbygden, released a statement expressing the severity of the situation and the impact it had on the police force. “This is a very serious situation and there are many of us who feel affected by what has happened. It is a colleague who is fighting for his life after being attacked while doing his socially important work. Crisis support is now given at the same time that we also place great importance on the preliminary investigation being carried out in a good way,” Axell said in the press release.
As of Monday, the police officer’s condition had improved from life-threatening to serious but stable. The 35-year-old suspect’s condition is assessed as serious by medical professionals.