Swedish boy released as school threat probe closes

The boy, who was taken into custody on Wednesday on reasonable suspicion of aggravated unlawful threats, was released after prosecutors reviewed the collected material. Public Prosecutor Joel Henning stated that there is no longer reason to assume that a crime subject to public prosecution has been committed. According to Henning, after reviewing the collected material, there is no support that the boy uttered or wrote anything constituting an unlawful threat. He added that the information was based on misunderstandings and false rumors, and that the boy is innocent. The preliminary investigation has been closed.

The threat led to widespread school closures in Borlänge, a town of about 45,000 people some 200 kilometres north of Stockholm. The Borlänge municipality said schools would resume normal operations on Thursday after police located and took into custody the individual who had led to the assessment of a potential threat. Police assessed that the threat no longer exists. The municipality described the decision to close schools as 'a precautionary measure due to a potential threat of violence against school activities'. According to public broadcaster SVT, the closures affected some 3,000 children across 16 municipal preschools, elementary and secondary schools. A number of private schools also decided independently to close after being informed of the threat. Police official Jimmy Spolander confirmed there was a 'threat against school operations' but declined to give details. Police opened a preliminary investigation into serious unlawful threats against a group, but at the time said it was too early to say whether the threat had any substance.

Newspaper Aftonbladet reported that the threat involved a 'school shooting' which had been circulated on social media. However, police declined to comment on that specific report, and other sources only mention a 'serious unlawful threat against a group'. The exact nature of the threat remains unclear, as the school shooting claim is unconfirmed by authorities. Public Prosecutor Joel Henning later stated that there is no reason for concern or any ongoing threat linked to the case. He said police are carrying out 'broad, methodical work' to build a picture of the incident, and that several interrogations are taking place, including further questioning of the suspect.

Police always assess incoming threats against school environments and may take operational measures, according to multiple reports. These measures are usually crime-preventive and safety-creating, but may also aim to gather more information to evaluate the threat and its credibility. Rumor spreading is common in such incidents, authorities said, urging the public to contact the police with information rather than spreading rumors. The majority of such tips are assessed as unserious and without substance.

Sweden has experienced several high-profile school attacks in recent years. In February 2025, a 35-year-old gunman killed 10 people at an adult education centre in Örebro – the country's worst mass shooting. In March 2022, an 18-year-old student stabbed two teachers to death at a secondary school in Malmö. In October 2015, three people were killed in a racially motivated attack at a school in Trollhättan by a sword-wielding assailant. These incidents have heightened sensitivity to potential threats against educational institutions.

According to www.thelocal.se, Jörgen Olsson, the city's administrative manager, described that students received information on Monday that 'raises concern'. He also said that late on Tuesday evening, information reached municipal employees. The teenage boy had been missing for the past few days before being found around noon on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.

Several questions remain unanswered. It is unclear what exactly the boy allegedly said or did that led to his arrest, and why he was missing for several days before being found. The specific evidence that exonerated him has not been disclosed, nor is it known how the false rumors originated and spread. Authorities have not said whether any other individuals were involved in spreading the threat.