Sweden’s Lund University closed after anonymous threat

Sweden's second largest university said it would close all day on Monday following an anonymous threat that, according to local media, raised fears of a mass shooting.

"Due to an anonymous threat to the university and its students via the app Jodel and which the police takes very seriously, the university will be closed on Monday for all students and staff at all campuses," Lund University, in southwest Sweden, said on its website.

Jodel is an application for mobile phones which allows students to communicate anonymously to others in the same university.

Swedish media said one Jodel user issued the following message: "Do not go to the university tomorrow if you are in Lund. Look at the news tomorrow morning."

The text drew parallels with a message released on the Internet forum 4chan before the October 1 shootings at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg in the US state of Oregon, when a 26-year-old man killed nine people before committing suicide, the media said.

Investigators have not however confirmed that the author of the message and the killer were the same person.

The rector of Lund University, Torbjoern von Schantz, said he had felt no hesitation about cancelling all classes.

"Security must come before everything else," he told TT news agency.

Police in Lund said they were looking for whoever was behind the threat.

"Police have gathered some technical information which will be examined," they said in a statement.