In a precautionary measure taken due to a potential threat of violence against school activities, about 3,000 children are affected by this decision, according to the municipality of Borlänge. Approximately 20 schools in Borlänge, Sweden, in the central part of the country, are closed on Wednesday after receiving threats from the police, authorities said. The decision to close the schools was made as a precaution in response to a potential threat of violence against school activities, as stated by the municipality of Borlänge in a statement listing the 16 closed public schools. Five private schools have also decided to close, according to Swedish media.
The police have received information regarding “threats against schools in Borlänge” and have initiated a preliminary investigation for “serious illegal threats against a group.” It is too early to determine if this threat is credible or not, they added in their statement. Borlänge, with approximately 45,000 inhabitants, is located about 200 kilometers north of Stockholm. Around 3,000 children are affected by this decision and will stay at home today, according to the SVT channel. The municipality has not yet decided whether to extend the school closures. “It can be a matter of a few hours or potentially several days, and it will largely depend on the dialogue we have with the police as well as the evaluations made by them,” said Mr. Olsson at a press conference.
Attacks on schools are relatively rare in Sweden. In February 2025, a 35-year-old man killed 10 people at an adult education center in Örebro, in the deadliest mass shooting in Sweden’s history. In March 2022, an 18-year-old student stabbed to death two teachers at a high school in Malmö. In October 2015, three people were killed in a racially motivated attack at a school in Trollhättan, in the west of the country, by an attacker armed with a sword who was later shot dead by the police.
“We will not provide any further details about the nature of the threat,” said police officer Jimmy Spolander at a press conference. The director of services of Borlänge municipality, Jörgen Olsson, mentioned receiving a late alert on Tuesday. “On Monday, students in Borlänge received information, information circulating among students, which caused concern. And late on Tuesday evening, this information also reached the municipality’s employees,” he said.
