The increase is “significant,” according to Susanna Bellander, national coordinator for the police’s work on counterterrorism and extremism. It ranges from relatives raising concerns about loved ones to people reacting to things they have seen online, she says.
Right now there is an increased influx and you always have that after these types of events, both nationally and internationally. So it is too early to say whether it is different from the normal picture.
Even after the mass murder at Campus Risbergska in Örebro, there was a sharp increase in alerts connected to schools.
Glorification online
Increased concern and vigilance in society at large, and in schools in particular, are driving the alerts, while the glorification of perpetrators of violence online may play a role.
"It's part of this subculture, and there's generally a risk that this type of activity online will increase. It obviously makes people very uncomfortable, which can lead to more calls," says Bellander.
Lena Ljungdahl, a school safety specialist and former police officer, also says that the media's detailed reporting about the suspected perpetrator can trigger others.
"That's exactly what they want. They see the effect of intimidation. I would guess that in many of the recent incidents, there may not have been that much risk of the attacks being carried out, but they still get the effect of it," she says.
Thankfully, there are few in these environments who are prepared to move from words to action, says Ljungdahl.
But those who actually step over the border are fed by and draw strength from the others in that environment.
Digital life
Susanna Bellander believes that adults need to have better control over what their children are doing online.
We're a little behind there, and that applies to all of us. But if you want to know who your children are hanging out with in the physical world, you should want to know that in the digital sphere as well.
The number of alerts and tips to the police related to incidents at schools will likely decrease in the coming weeks. But Susanna Bellander emphasizes that it is always better to contact the police once too many times.
If something feels uncomfortable, but you can't put your finger on it, that information can be valuable to us, because we can perhaps put it in a larger context where we have other information.
A 17-year-old girl was killed and two boys were seriously injured when a person attacked with a sword at Brinell School on August 21.
An 18-year-old male student at the school was arrested at the scene. Police fired live rounds during the arrest, but the suspect was not hit. A TikTok account linked to the 18-year-old has been active in an online movement that attracts people interested in - and celebrating - acts of violence.
On August 26, police announced that another person, a 16-year-old boy, had been arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting murder and attempted murder in Fagersta. According to police, he was not at the school during the attack.
The 16-year-old, who lives in Stockholm, is also suspected of his own murder plans in another case being handled by Nacka District Court.
In the case in Nacka District Court, a person under the age of 15 is also suspected of conspiracy to commit murder, between May and August this year at an unknown location.
