On 19 August 2021, a stabbing and attempted mass murder occurred at Källeberg School in Eslöv, Sweden, when the 15-year-old student Hugo Ahlfors Jackson stabs a person with a knife in an unsuccessful attempt at suicide by cop when aiming an airsoft pistol at first responders.[1]
| Eslöv school stabbing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Källeberg School, Eslöv, Sweden |
| Coordinates | 55°50′18″N 13°19′07″E / 55.83845619595193°N 13.318510455426779°E |
| Date | 19 August 2021 |
Attack type | |
| Weapons |
|
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 1 |
| Motive | |
| Verdict | Guilty; sentenced to 2.5 years in a youth detention centre and must pay damages |
| Convictions |
|
Jackson livestreamed the attack on live-streaming platform Twitch. There is no screen recording of the livestream and it is considered lost media; however, there are screenshots of the livestream.
Background
editSweden and wider Scandinavia have had a history of right-wing extremism, including a stabbing attack at a school in Trollhättan, Sweden in 2015. Often these attacks are influenced by a discontent with immigration policies and will target immigrants and minority ethnic groups.[2]
The livestreaming of right-wing terrorist attacks online, thought to have been first used and popularised in the Christchurch mosque shootings, have become increasingly utilised.[3]
Attack
editAt around 8:06 am, Jackson arrived at Källeberg, at the school's football pitch, carrying a gym bag that contained four knives, two airsoft pistols, black clothing, a protective vest and combat helmet both adorned with patches of the Swedish flag.[4] After using one of the school's changing rooms to put on his clothing, Jackson began a livestream on Twitch using his mobile phone, propping it up to broadcast.[5][1]
Upon starting the livestream, Jackson begins playing Serbia Strong and says "Remember lads, Subscribe to PewDiePie", referencing a quote originating from the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings.[5][1][6]
Three to four minutes into the livestream, Jackson walks in circles and then squats down in front of the camera and gives a double thumbs-up to the camera and then attaches the phone to the GoPro mount on his helmet and proceeds approaching Källeberg.
Eight minutes and eleven seconds into the livestream, Jackson enters Källeberg. He approaches Niklas Videsson, a 45-year-old teacher who did not recognise him despite being his student. Videsson asks, "You aren't wearing the correct uniform here." Jackson stabs the teacher in the stomach, making him collapse onto the ground and shout in pain.[6]
Fifteen minutes and forty-eight seconds into the livestream, the music has changed to "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen, and Jackson begins walking back to the football pitch before being detained by police officer, Mikael Johansson, who orders him to lie down. Jackson aims his airsoft pistol at officer Johansson reminiscent of an attempt at suicide by cop.[7]: 6 Johansson fires warning shots at Jackson, the weapon is dropped, he put into handcuffs and arrested whilst music continues playing.[1][6]
For the remaining four minutes and thirty-three seconds of the livestream, the video stream cuts off but audio can still be heard that Jackson tells the officer that he has had enough of life and wants to be shot, the livestream then ends; 25 minutes and 36 seconds in duration.[1][6]
Perpetrator
editHugo Jackson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hugo Ahlfors Jackson May 12, 2006 |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan-Colombian |
| Citizenship | Swedish |
| Education | Källeberg School, Eslöv, Sweden |
Hugo Ahlfors Jackson (born 12 May 2006)[8] was identified as the attacker and a student of Källeberg by police officers at the scene.
According to police Jackson had an interest in white supremacy, national socialism, school shootings and instances of right-wing terrorism.[1]
The perpetrator had been reported to, questioned and visited by police several times in the year leading up to the attack. In almost every instance the police forwarded the case to social services. Teachers at school expressed frustration at the inaction of social services to the police, having voiced concerns about the perpetrator bringing knives to school and believing he could harm someone at school. Among the officers these concerns were expressed to included an officer who had previously witnessed the perpetrator wearing a swastika arm band and knew the perpetrator had pictures of school shooters and Nazi imagery in his possession.[1]
On 6 August 2021, Swedish authorities received a tip from the FBI entailing that an individual had made plans to commit a school shooting in Sweden, which was traced to the perpetrator. Four police officers visited the perpetrator at his home for questioning. No action was taken against the perpetrator, instead another report was filed to social services.[1]
Jackson was a self-proclaimed white supremacist, despite his mother being from Sri Lanka and his father from Colombia.[9]
Kristianstad school stabbing
editOn 10 January 2022, 16-year-old Laaiti Ekenstéen attacked his school in Kristianstad, Sweden, armed with four knives, injuring two people. Jackson and Ekenstéen were in close contact with each other and communicated through online communication. According to Jackson, the two were "blood brothers". They had met on the online video game Roblox and had been friends for around six years, communicating through various social media platforms and meeting in person four or five times.[10]
Ekenstéen told police that he and Jackson would discuss and joke about topics like politics, racism and the Christchurch mosque shootings livestream. These discussions between Ekenstéen and the police occurred prior to the Kristianstad school attack and were part of the investigation into the Eslöv attack. The extent of the knowledge the Kristianstad attacker had of the Eslöv attacker's plans or if he aided him at all is unclear. Ekenstéen was sentenced to three years in a youth detention.[10]
Legal proceedings
editOn 22 December 2021, the Lund District Court sentenced Hugo to two and a half years in a youth detention center after being found guilty of attempted murder and nine counts of grossly unlawful threats. He was ordered to pay at least SEK 480,000 ($52,582) to victims.[10]
On 16 March 2022, Hugo was convicted for a further four charges of grossly unlawful threats. His sentence remained the same, though he was ordered to pay additional damages.[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "DOKUMENT: Hur många gånger måste lärare slå larm?". skolvarlden.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
- ^ Ravndal, Jacob Aasland (2018-05-17). "Right-wing Terrorism and Militancy in the Nordic Countries: A Comparative Case Study". Terrorism and Political Violence. 30 (5): 772–792. doi:10.1080/09546553.2018.1445888. hdl:10852/64981. ISSN 0954-6553. S2CID 150148992.
- ^ Hymas, Charles (2022-10-16). "Tech giants urged to limit live streaming to prevent terrorists showing killings to millions". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
- ^ Metalock (2022-06-21). "Swedish police transcript of the 2021 Eslöv school attack, translated into English by me". r/masskillers. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ a b Chokshi, Niraj (2019-03-15). "PewDiePie Put in Spotlight After New Zealand Shooting". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ a b c d Sisask, Raphaelle (2021-10-18). "Skolattacken i Eslöv – minut för minut". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2022-10-15.
- ^ Kupper, Julia; Christensen, Tanya Karoli; Wing, Dakota; Hurt, Marlon; Schumacher, Matthew; Meloy, Reid (2022). "The Contagion and Copycat Effect in Transnational Far-right Terrorism: An Analysis of Language Evidence". Perspectives on Terrorism. 16 (4): 4–26. ISSN 2334-3745. JSTOR 27158149. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Hugo Ahlfors Jackson (17 år) Eslöv | Ratsit". www.ratsit.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-09-03.
- ^ Pettersson (2021-08-21). "Misstänkt för försök till mord i Eslöv begärd häktad". Petterssons gör Sverige lagom! (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-09-03.
- ^ a b c "Skolvärlden granskar: Så kopplas skolattackerna med varandra". skolvarlden.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
- ^ Nyheter, S. V. T.; Fridh, Linda; Sisask, Raphaelle (2022-03-16). "Skolattacken i Eslöv: Pojken döms för hot mot fler elever". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-03-01.