Home

Swedish court remands man over stabbing

Lennart SimonssonAAP
A 22-year-old man is suspected of stabbing seven men in the Swedish town of Vetlanda.
Camera IconA 22-year-old man is suspected of stabbing seven men in the Swedish town of Vetlanda.

A Swedish court has remanded a man on suspicion of seven cases of attempted murder following a stabbing rampage earlier this week in southern Sweden.

The 22-year-old man from Afghanistan was suspected of stabbing seven men on Wednesday in the small southern town of Vetlanda.

The victims - aged between 35 and 75 - appeared to have been selected at random, police said earlier.

The district court in Eksjo also ruled that the suspect should undergo a psychiatric assessment.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

Prosecutor Adam Rullman requested remand, citing the risk the suspect could commit new crimes and flight risk.

After the hearing, Rullman said the suspect would be interviewed in the coming days.

"At present we have no view on the possible motive," Rullman added.

Lawyer Christian Bernto said he had not yet been able to have a longer consultation with his client.

The suspect made several outbursts during the initial part of hearing and was ordered to be quiet by the judge, according to reporters at the court.

The suspect said through a translator that he had "not done anything".

The proceedings continued behind closed doors.

When the remand decision was announced, the suspect was sitting in a separate room, following the proceedings by video.

The attacks stopped after the police shot the suspect in the leg.

He was armed with a knife at the time of his arrest.

Reporters said the suspect limped into the court room but did not use a cane or crutches.

The suspect came to Sweden in 2016 and moved to Vetlanda a year ago.

He had temporary residency and had previously been sentenced for a minor drugs offence in 2019.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails