Boy, 12, Placed in Compulsory Care Following Attack on Five-Year-Old
A 12-year-old boy is suspected of attempted murder after a five-year-old girl suffered serious injuries during an attack at a park in Helsingborg, southern Sweden.
The incident occurred at approximately 3 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2026. The young girl was taken to hospital with serious injuries but was discharged several days later.
Girl Reportedly Suffered Stab or Cut Injuries
Prosecutor Gustav Friman told Swedish broadcaster SVT that the girl had sustained injuries caused by stabbing or cutting. Investigators have not yet established a clear motive for the attack.
Authorities have also not confirmed whether the two children knew each other before the incident.
TikTok Account Reportedly Linked to the Boy
Local newspaper Helsingborgs Dagblad, working with researchers from the Expo Foundation, reported that it had traced a TikTok account featuring tributes to school shooters and other mass killers to the 12-year-old.
The profile was reportedly connected to an email address belonging to one of the boy’s relatives and appeared to have been created before he turned 10.
However, the investigation has not determined whether the boy personally uploaded every post or who controlled the account at different times.
Content of the Account Changed Over Time
The account’s earliest posts reportedly included computer-generated animals and scenes from video games.
Its content began changing in late February, when the profile started sharing material that appeared to celebrate school attackers and other perpetrators of mass killings.
Morgan Finnsiö, a research journalist at Expo, explained that the True Crime Community, also known as TCC, is an online environment where some users form fandoms around school shooters, terrorists and other mass killers.
Activity on the TikTok profile reportedly ended after Helsingborg’s municipal social welfare board formally approved compulsory care for the boy.
Boy Taken Into Emergency Care
Social services reportedly placed the 12-year-old in emergency care within hours of the park attack.
The municipal social welfare board later approved compulsory care under Sweden’s Care of Young Persons (Special Provisions) Act, commonly known as LVU.
Guidance from Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare states that emergency care can be ordered when a child needs immediate protection. Such decisions are later subject to legal review.
LVU is a child-welfare measure intended to protect and support children. It is not a criminal sentence.
Boy Is Below Sweden’s Age of Criminal Responsibility
Sweden’s minimum age of criminal responsibility is 15, meaning the 12-year-old cannot face an ordinary criminal prosecution.
Police may still investigate the incident and examine the circumstances surrounding the attack. However, measures involving the boy are handled through child-protection and welfare procedures rather than the standard criminal justice system.
No Confirmed Link Between TikTok Content and Attack
Police have not identified a motive or confirmed that the TikTok material was connected to the attack.
It also remains uncertain who controlled the social media profile, whether the boy created all its content and whether the two children had any previous relationship.
The Helsingborg park attack remains under investigation as authorities work to determine what led to the five-year-old girl’s serious injuries.
Because the suspected attacker is only 12, the case is being managed through Sweden’s child-welfare system rather than a conventional criminal prosecution. No direct connection between the reported TikTok activity and the attack has been established.
