Swedish Ikea store stops knife sales after attack

The Ikea branch in central Sweden where two shoppers were fatally stabbed -- reportedly with knives taken from the shelves -- will temporarily stop knife sales, the store manager said Tuesday.

"This is a decision I've taken and it is temporary," store manager Mattias Johansson told news agency TT, adding that the store would reopen on Wednesday morning.

The Ikea store in Vasteras, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of Stockholm, has been closed since Monday when two shoppers were fatally stabbed in the kitchenware section.

Two Eritrean asylum-seekers have been arrested on suspicion of murder, but police said Tuesday that the motive for the attack was still unknown.

The victims did not have any connection to their attackers, police said.

Police have remained tightlipped about what happened in the store, but local media have reported that the suspects may have used knives they picked up from the store's shelves.

One of the suspects, aged 23, has denied any involvement in the attack, while the second, born in 1979, remains in hospital in critical condition. He underwent a second operation on Tuesday for stab wounds and has yet to be questioned by police.

Police have not disclosed how he sustained his injuries.