Three people were taken to hospital on Monday after a suspected stabbing incident in central Sweden.

Police in the city of Norrkoping south of the capital rushed to the scene outside a public library and had to briefly obstruct local bus routes, public broadcaster Swedish Television reported.

"We have arrested one person whom we suspect of having stabbed three others with a knife," police spokesperson Fredrik Kliman said.

Witnesses said the suspect seemed to be under the influence of drugs, according to local newspaper Norrkopings Tidningar. A passerby held the man down until the police arrived, the paper reported.

Two of the stabbing victims, a man and a woman in their 20s, suffered serious injuries in the attack while a 40-year-old woman was mildly hurt.