Sweden
“One of the worst weekends in a long time”: Gang crime drives the head of government
Police are at the location in Solna, a suburb of Stockholm, where a man was found dead. Criminal gangs in Sweden have been fighting each other for a long time, among other things to control the drug market
© Christine Olsson/TT News Agency/DPA
Sweden is struggling to contain violence between rival gangs. There have been more than 20 violent crimes involving gunshots or explosions in Stockholm since Christmas.
A renewed wave of violence among criminal gangs in Sweden continues to worry Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. “This weekend has been one of the worst we’ve seen in a very long time,” said the Conservative Prime Minister on Monday on the Swedish radio station SVT.
Because the violent crimes didn’t stop by themselves, far-reaching measures are needed to deal with gang crime, Kristersson said. Criminals would have to be locked up and those without Swedish citizenship would have to be expelled. However, it will take time to get the problem under control, he added, referring to the years of fighting other waves of violence in New York in the 1990s and, more recently, in neighboring Denmark.
Sweden fights with rival gangs
For years, Sweden has struggled with conflicts between rival gangs, which have resulted in repeated shots and deliberate explosions. The situation in the capital Stockholm has recently deteriorated again: since Christmas there have been more than 20 acts of violence of this kind, including several last weekend. Two people were killed during the renewed wave of violence, most recently a man on Friday evening. The Stockholm police are now receiving reinforcements from all over the country.
According to “SVT” information, it is suspected within the police force that criminals have a kind of list of potential targets and the corresponding prize money for carrying out orders against these people. According to the broadcaster, behind this is the network of a convicted 36-year-old who fled to Turkey and is known as “The Kurdish Fox”.
Further source:“SVT”.