An 18-year-old student who attacked and killed two teachers with an axe at a Swedish high school has been jailed for life.

Fabian Vidar Cederholm was found guilty of two counts of murder on Thursday.

He was sentenced to life in prison – which in Sweden means a minimum of 20 to 25 years, but it could be extended.

Cederholm was a student at the school in Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city, where he carried out the attacks.

The victims – Victoria Edstrom and Sara Book – were found on the third floor of Malmo Latin School – 10 minutes after police were alerted.

Students at the school, that has about 1,100 pupils, had gathered to work on a musical.

Many locked themselves inside classrooms when the attacks began.

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Malmo District Court heard Cederholm killed the staff members “by hacking them to death with an axe”.

Judge Johan Kvart said Cederholm had also used a knife.

“These are two very brutal murders where the victims suffered severely,” the judge said in a statement.

Cederholm was arrested shortly after the incident on 21 March.

He was not previously known to authorities and had no criminal record.

Prosecutor Johanna Liljeblad had asked that Cederholm, who confessed to the crime, be sentenced to life.

A lawyer representing Cederholm earlier had told Swedish media that the actions of the defendant were “completely inexplicable”.

The court said the motive for the violent attacks is not fully understood.

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