Gang violence is currently on the rise in Sweden: in the region around the capital Stockholm and in the university city of Uppsala Seven people were shot dead in ten days. A particularly brutal case shocked the Scandinavian country on September 11 Milo, 13, murdered in a forest it was found near Haninge, south of the capital. He was killed with a shot to the head.
Now it turns out that the boy’s murder is linked to gang crime. “There is information, which I cannot go into detail due to the secrecy of the investigation, that shows that the boy was exposed to serious and completely relentless gang violence,” senior prosecutor Lisa dos Santos said on Thursday in Stockholm, among other things. . Report from Swedish broadcaster SVT.
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According to the report, 13-year-old Milo came from Stockholm and was reported missing on September 8. He was found dead on the morning of Monday, September 11,
Criminal networks are currently in a very violent and growing phase.
Christopher Carlssoncriminologist at Stockholm University
it is supposed that Most of the murders have to do with an internal conflict within the so-called Foxtrot network, in which two wings of the gang fight each other. At the center of the conflict should be Rawa Majid, 36, wanted on an arrest warrant, who leads the network.
Majid is known in Sweden as “The Kurdish Fox” and reportedly had a disagreement with another important member of the network, aged 33. Both would be hiding in Türkiye.
According to information from SVT, the most recent violence began there in early September: someone from the 33-year-old’s camp in Istanbul was allegedly mistreated. Afterwards, a lodge with links to Majid’s camp was apparently targeted.
Then the conflict reached Swedish soil: On September 7, a woman in her 60s was shot dead in Uppsala – the mother of the 33-year-old. According to the police, it was a normal execution. Since then, one revenge attack has followed the next.
And the people of Sweden are shocked that minors are increasingly attracted to violence. Some are just 14 years old or younger.
According to SVT reports, the number of homicide charges against minors has increased sharply in recent years. “This is obviously a tragic development – that children and young people are becoming murderers as well as victims of crimes in the vicious circle into which they are drawn,” cited the DPA. Minister of Justice, Gunnar Strömmer.
Gang violence in Sweden
- The Scandinavian EU country has been struggling for several years with gang crimes.
- Dozens of gangs are fighting each other. O According to the government, there are currently An estimated 30,000 people are members of these gangs.
- It’s all about that profitable drug business. Sweden is a Latin American cocaine transit country on the way to Europe.
- Gang wars are becoming more and more frequent in shots It is intentionally caused explosions.
- According to police statistics, in the first 258 days of 2023 there were more than 260 firearms incidents, with 34 deaths and 71 injuries. (dpa)
Radio station SVT reported that Police do not believe Milo’s murder had anything to do with the conflict within the Foxtrot network, but connections to other gangs would be scrutinized. According to the report, prosecutor dos Santos declined to comment on which gang conflict the murder of the 13-year-old was linked to.
According to a report by the dpa news agency, police officer Jale Poljarevius said on the radio: “We see that violence has definitely become more serious.” It’s unbelievable that a country like Sweden, of all places, would have to go through something like this.
“But this is the harsh reality that we face and that we have to combat with all possible means.” As head of the secret service in the Central Sweden police region, he heads a unit that explicitly deals with gangs.
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Criminologist Christoffer Carlsson from Stockholm University told dpa: ““Criminal networks are currently in a very violent and growing phase.” Gangs also began attacking relatives of gang members.
“If it is difficult to reach members, they will be attacked by relatives,” Carlsson said. “It’s a terrible development, but not entirely unexpected.” (lem)