Swedish police question Ikea knife attack suspect

One of two suspects in the knife attack at an Ikea store in Sweden that left two dead has denied involvement in the crime while the other is in critical condition, officials said Tuesday.

The two people killed in the midday attack on Monday in the central Swedish town of Vasteras were a 55-year-old woman and her 28-year-old son, police said.

The Aftonbladet newspaper meanwhile reported that the two suspects were refugees living at the same asylum centre, but police could not confirm that information.

"We can confirm that the dead are a 55-year-old woman and her 28-year-old son," police spokeswoman Victoria Holmgren told AFP.

She refused to disclose further information about the attackers or their victims' identities, but media reports said the victims were from northern Sweden and were visiting relatives in Vasteras.

"They went to Ikea to go shopping. At the kitchenware section something happened and they were attacked with a knife," the local VLT newspaper reported.

Police on Monday described the attack as a "crazy incident". There were no indications it was terror-related and Swedish intelligence agency Sapo said it had not been called in on the case.

The two suspects were arrested on Monday shortly after the attack. One, born in 1992, was wrestled to the ground by police at a bus stop outside Ikea, while the other, born in 1979, was found with stab wounds inside the store.

It was not yet known how he sustained his injuries, police said, and investigators have not yet explained the suspects' relation to each other.

The suspect in critical condition, who underwent an operation on Monday, was in intensive care and had not yet been questioned by police on Tuesday, healthcare officials said.

"He was stable overnight but he is still in critical condition," Eva Lindahl, a spokeswoman for the regional healthcare authority, told AFP.

The other suspect arrested at the bus stop was questioned on Monday and "denies any involvement" in the attack, the deputy prosecutor in charge of the case, Eva Moren, told the daily Expressen.

According to police sources quoted by VLT, "the suspects appear to have used knives from Ikea's shelves".

The store was evacuated after the attack and remained closed Tuesday until further notice.