An armed and dangerous mental patient, previously found guilty of murder and rape, escaped from a psychiatric institution in the southern Swedish town of Vaexjoe on Monday, police said.
"At 9:50 am (0850 GMT) today we received word that a very dangerous man who has committed murder and violent rape escaped from a psychiatric institution while being transported between two buildings," local police commissioner Leif Gustavsson told AFP.
"He pulled out a weapon, a gun, from beneath his clothes and threatened the employees... No shots were fired... He then ran out to a waiting car, apparently driven by a woman," he added.
Police were searching for the getaway car, he said.
The man, 33, has reportedly spent the past eight years in psychiatric care and has never before attempted to escape.
Sweden has over the past year been plagued by a slew of jailbreaks, including some of the Scandinavian country's most dangerous criminals.
While the most high-profile escaped cons, who broke out of jail last August and September, were caught within a few weeks, the jail-breaks provoked criticism of the country's penal system, renowned for its humane treatment of prisoners.
Although this latest case involves an escape from a mental hospital rather than a jail it could lead to renewed criticism and calls for Justice Minister Thomas Bodstroem to step down.
"We consider this man to be extremely dangerous," Gustavsson said.