There have been different phases, but the crisis work is still ongoing today, says Mattias Molin.
I don't know what to say. It's been an utterly unbearable year, full of suffering but also of community and interdependence.
Six people were injured and ten teachers and students were killed when 35-year-old Rickard Andersson opened fire inside the school on February 4, 2025.
Alert mode
Mattias Molin was sitting and eating in the school cafeteria when loud bangs rang out. His first thought was that it could have been an accident — maybe the janitor had dropped something from a locker?
With a colleague, he began running toward the sounds, but when they reached the main corridor, they saw students pouring out of classrooms in panic.
Some shouted, "They're shooting, they're shooting." Then there were new volleys of gunfire and we realized that the situation was tense.
The focus was on getting as many people out of the premises as possible and he "literally threw students out," says Mattias Molin. Soon the shots came closer and he realized he needed to get out.
Together with a colleague, he hid in a shelter inside the school. Shots and screams could be heard outside.
You understand it's about people fleeing for their lives.
When the fire alarm went off, the sounds were drowned out. A few hours later, they were able to leave the room with a police response team. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw traces of blood on the floor further away.
Outside the school, he met colleagues who told him they had seen dead people being taken out by the police.
What was going through your head then?
It was probably the need to take care of each other, right then. Early on, we saw that we needed each other in this.
Community is crucial
That very thought has since been key to getting through the past year, believes Mattias Molin.
The most important thing has been community, and providing space to share grief, talk, and meet around our core mission, which is teaching.
Teaching resumed about a month after the shooting. Although it was tough, it was appreciated and served as a kind of safe space for many, he says. Since August, they have been back in the same premises as before.
The place is associated with trauma, so it's a challenge for many. But I think we're taking steps every day by continuing to come to school, to have our lessons and to get back into our routines. And we have each other.
