Forensic laboratory technicians from the police investigated traces in several different places.
The three suspected attempted murders happened around 01:30 on Tuesday morning in central Skellefteå. After receiving information that lead the police towards a suspected perpetrator, they were able to arrest a younger man just an hour later at a location other than the crime scene.
– What I can say is that the police very quickly gained a clear picture of who were injured parties and who the suspect was, based on information given from different directions. There are also people who were alleged witnesses of the event, says Jonas Fjellström who is leading the preliminary investigation.
Three men in their 20s were subjected to very serious violence with “an object with a sharp blade” as the prosecutor described it. Most things point to, according to the prosecutor, that only one weapon was used in connection with the attempted murders.
What is the status of the three victims of crime?
– Two have left hospital while the third is still receiving hospital care. All are assessed to have received serious but not life-threatening injuries. They have all been subjected to serious violence with at least one sharp object. The person still in hospital sustained the most serious injuries, says Jonas Fjellström.
Lawyers Linda Sundlöf, Jens Nyström and Urban Rönnblom have been appointed counsels for an injured party for the three victims.
The police cordoned off a large area around Hörnellgatan in central Skellefteå on Tuesday.
On Wednesday prosecutor Jonas Fjellström submitted a request to Skellefteå District Court for Urban Rönnblom, in addition to his assignment as counsel for an injured party to also be appointed limited guardian.
The district court also decided to approve this in what is known as an interim (temporary) decision.
The counsel for an injured party Urban Rönnblom tells Norran that he does not want to give any comments on his client's medical status, Rönnblom refers to prosecutor Jonas Fjellström who is leading the preliminary investigation.
Why did you submit this request for a limited guardian?
– It was because in these types of cases there may be a need to examine the injured party and there must always be consent.
– But in this specific case the injured party is in such a bad state that he is uncontactable. That is why there must be a guardian who makes decisions instead of the injured party, for example whether or not various forensic medical examinations shall be allowed, Jonas Fjellström continues.
The man's injuries were on Thursday still described as “serious but not life-threatening” by the prosecutor.
Why are the crimes assessed as three cases of attempted murder?
– In my opinion it is fairly senseless violence that the three persons are subjected to. The injuries are almost exclusively in the head and neck, the situation being most serious for the person who is still in hospital. I would like to say that it’s pure luck that not one or more of them died as a result of the attack, seen to the type of violence that was used, says Jonas Fjellström.
According to the prosecutor, the three victims have been inflicted with “a number of stabs”.
– The fact that the violence in principle only has been targeted at the head and neck is unusual, normally with this type of attack the violence is often directed at the torso and upper body in general. But in this case there doesn't seem to have been any barriers for the perpetrator, says Jonas Fjellström.
Just before lunchtime Jonas Fjellström announced that he had just submitted a remand order to Skellefteå District Court for the 20-year old man to be detained, suspected with probable cause for three cases of attempted murder.
In addition to representatives from the media and security guards (picture) there was a large number of attendees at the detention hearing, primarily relatives of the three victims.
The police has previously described the suspect of being in his 20s but the remand order revealed that he is 18 years old and registered as living in Örnsköldsvik.
At 14:00 the detention hearing was initiated against the young man who is suspected with probable cause for three cases of attempted murder early on Tuesday morning in central Skellefteå.
It might have been the most well-visited detention hearing in Skellefteå District Court in recent years.
Around 20 people were present, primarily relatives of the three victims.
As detention hearings are often held in camera (behind closed doors), there were only a few minutes where the public and the media were allowed to participate.
It was revealed that prosecutor Jonas Fjellström sees two reasons to detain the 18-year old: the risk of the man impeding the investigation and committing new crimes if he was set free.
– My client denies committing the crime and contests the petition for detention, said lawyer Mikael Stenman before all members of the public had to leave the room and the hearing continued behind closed doors.
Skellefteå District Court announced, after an hour-long detention hearing, that the 18-year old is suspected with probable cause for three cases of attempted murder. The district court found two reasons to detain him.
A prosecution must be brought before the court by 21 March.
The 18-year old shall also go through a minor medical examination, what is known as a section seven examination, to find out whether there is reason to believe he is suffering serious mental illness.
On the Thursday a search was carried out in Skellefteälven by Lejonströmsbron.
Police divers and the Swedish Coast Guard conducted searches in the river by Lejonströmsbron for several hours on the Thursday. People Norran has spoken to also saw police divers in the same place on Wednesday. Trustworthy sources tell Norran that the police have been looking for the weapon that was used in the violent act.
Ahead of the diving the police authority asked that the river flow in the lower parts of the river was to be reduced.
Divers were seen placing a buoy as a marker in a location about 20 metres south of the bridge. Objects were also seen handed over from divers to police officers in uniform.
Ahead of the dive Skellefteälven’s water regulation company received a request from the police authority to lower the flow in the lower part of Skellefteälven.
– We have planned to reduce the flow between 10:00 and 16:00 today, said the MD Viktor Carlsson at lunchtime.
Objects were seen handed over from divers to police officers in uniform.
Persons Norran has spoken two also saw police divers in the same place on the Wednesday.
This plan was made on Wednesday.
– Our role as water regulation company is to plan ahead of the coming 24 hours the flow that is to run into different parts of the river. We can then make a plan for how much water is to pass through different power plants. On this particular occasion we have made an adaptation for this request.
Trustworthy sources tell Norran that the police have been looking for the weapon that was used in the violent act.
The water level looked like it had been reduced by one metre by Lejonströmsbron but Viktor Carlsson says that it should only be the case in one or two places.
– This is important to us, we perceive this request to be of importance to society. There is an interest in making this adaptation, a benefit for an important cause, says Viktor Carlsson.