Sweden: Two children killed, mother injured in knife attack

Two young children were killed and their mother seriously injured after being stabbed in their home in central Sweden, police said today.

A 27-year-old man who knows the family was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, police spokesman Borje Stromberg said.

“He claims he is innocent,” Mr Stromberg said.

The attack happened late on Monday in a house in Arboga, about 95 miles west of Stockholm.

A friend of the mother alerted police who entered the home and found two children, aged two and four, and their 23-year-old mother with serious stab wounds, Mr Stromberg said.

All three were rushed to a hospital where the two children were pronounced dead. The mother’s condition was not immediately clear.

Police would not comment on a motive for the attack, but said the suspect knew the family well.

“He has a close relation,” Mr Stromberg said, but declined to give more details, saying the investigation was ongoing.