Swedish police have shot and arrested a man who allegedly injured three women with a sharp object in Vasteras, a town in central Sweden.

The women, aged between 65 and 80, were taken to hospital, police said on their website.

“Police arrested a man in the vicinity of the crime scene,” the statement said. “In connection with his arrest, a situation arose and a police officer fired their weapon. The man was injured and has been taken to hospital, his condition is unknown.”

The newspaper Aftonbladet said the man was armed with a knife at the time of his arrest. Two of the three women were in a serious condition but stable, and the suspect had been shot in the leg, it reported.

The reported added that the man was in his 30s and known to police, with a criminal record for drug offences.

Vasteras is 75 miles (120km) west of Stockholm.