Bio

Anton Niclas Lundin Pettersson was born on 22 June 1994. His full name appears in public records and reporting about his life.

Classmates said he was a lonely person who "lived in his own world." They said he dressed in black clothing and that his style was influenced by the emo or rock scene. He often avoided eye contact and had trouble understanding other people. He was described as physically rigid and stubborn.

There is strong evidence that he had autism spectrum disorder. His parents did not want him diagnosed. One pediatrician who studied the case after his death diagnosed him with an autism spectrum disorder.

He had no criminal record and was not a member of any political organisation. He did support a petition by the Sweden Democrats to start a referendum on immigration. Reports say he had visited far-right and extremist websites that supported Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. He had also joined a Facebook group that opposed immigration to Sweden. The Swedish Security Service later looked into some of these online activities.

He had interacted with a variety of online content. In 2013 he liked a YouTube video of former Ku Klux Klan leader Johnny Lee Clary. He was also said to have viewed material that demeaned women and religious people. He saved material related to hopelessness, being misunderstood, self-hatred, violence, and death. He had watched videos of people committing suicide and had completed an online test for depression. Scars from self-harm were found on his arms. He also had material that suggested he was uncertain about his sexual identity.

He lived in an apartment building some distance from the neighbourhood that later became widely discussed in reporting about him. A book about the events around his life and death included interviews with people who knew him, and the author spoke with his brother.

Murder Story

On 22 October 2015, a mass stabbing happened at Kronan Primary School in Trollhättan, Sweden. Anton Niclas Lundin Pettersson entered the school at 10:06 wearing black clothes, a cape, a Stahlhelm-style helmet and a paintball mask. He carried a sword and a tantō knife as a backup weapon. He played the song "Dragula (Hot Rod Herman Remix)" by Rob Zombie on loop.

The first person attacked was 20-year-old teaching assistant Lavin Eskandar, an ethnic Feyli Kurd. He confronted Pettersson and was stabbed. Eskandar died at the scene. A 14-year-old student, David Issa, was struck with the ricasso of the sword and was lightly injured. Pettersson stabbed a 15-year-old Somali student, Ahmed Hassan, who later died in hospital. He also stabbed a 15-year-old Syrian student, Wahed Kosa, who survived his injuries.

Two students encountered Pettersson, thought it was a Halloween prank, and posed for a picture with him. Police said Pettersson spared them because they had white skin. A 42-year-old teacher, Nazir Amso, confronted Pettersson and was stabbed. Amso died of his injuries six weeks later in hospital on 3 December.

Police officers arrived shortly before 10:16, about ten minutes after Pettersson entered the school. Pettersson reportedly charged at police and was shot once in the abdomen. He later died from his injuries in hospital.

The initial police investigation concluded that Pettersson was motivated by opposition to immigration. Police said he chose the school because it was in a neighbourhood with a high immigrant population and that his victims were dark-skinned. CCTV footage showed he spared students with white skin.

Pettersson was identified as the attacker. He had no criminal record and was not a member of any political organisation. He had supported a petition by the Sweden Democrats for a referendum on immigration. Media and police reported that he had visited far-right and extremist websites and had joined a Facebook group opposing immigration. The Swedish Security Service investigated these findings.

People who knew him described him as lonely and someone who dressed in black clothes influenced by the emo or rock scene. There is strong evidence suggesting he had autism spectrum disorder. Self-harm scars were found on his arms. He had completed an online test for depression and had watched videos of people committing suicide. He saved material about hopelessness, self-hatred, violence and death.

A day before the attack he watched a video collage with Nazi military footage and listened to the song "When Evil Speaks" by Suicide Commando. Less than an hour before the killings he messaged an online friend saying he would "be dead in the next hour or two" and called the friend the best he ever had. He also said he wanted responding officers to shoot him.

After the attack, police and media confirmed it had racist motives and called it a hate crime. The prime minister, the minister for integration, and the royal family expressed sadness. The police warned the public about imitation weapons around Halloween. Kronan school stayed closed until 2 November and reopened with higher security.

In 2017 a book about the attack, Det som aldrig fick ske (What Was Never Supposed To Happen), was published. The book included information that had not been public before, such as the message Pettersson sent to an online friend. The author, Åsa Erlandsson, spoke to Pettersson's brother and won a journalism prize for the book. In 2019 the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings mentioned Pettersson in his manifesto and wrote Pettersson's name on one of his guns.