Since 2023, 22 innocent people were killed and another 38 wounded in shootings and attacks with explosives by criminal gangs in Sweden, Swedish radio (SR/EKOT) reports today. Many of these killed or wounded were family members of criminals, but were not involved in criminal activities themselves.
Every week there is at least one shooting – often in public areas – in Sweden, and once or more times a week explosive devices are set off in residential areas. The attacks take place in more troublesome neighbourhoods, as well as in the “better” areas.
3 killed in single shooting in Uppsala
One of the more recent noticeable incidents was in Uppsala on 29 April, when a young gang member shot and killed three, supposedly rival, gang members at a hairdresser near the central square Vaksala torg. One of those killed was a 15-year-old boy. The other two not older than 20 years. For this triple homocide, the police arrested six people in the age of 16 to 45 years old. The latest shooting was on 6 May in Hässelby, a Stockholm suburb, with one person hurt. Four days earlier, a hand grenade went off at an apartment building in Solna, a Stockholm suburb, for which two were arrested.
Southern third of Sweden
The shootings and explosions take place mostly in the southern third of Sweden, which is also the most populated area of the country of 10 million inhabitants. Although the incidents happen mostly in the big cities of Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö and Uppsala, shootings are also reported in the smaller towns. The shootings have been an issue for many years, but earlier they mainly took place in the more troublesome neighbourhoods.
Total number of shootings in Sweden down
The total number of shootings actually went down below 300 in 2024, for the first time since 2018. Last year, 44 people were killed by gunfire and another 65 wounded, according to statistics of the involved authorities Socialstyrelsen, Rättsmedicinalverket and the Crime Preventing Council (Brå). Swedish national broadcasting company SVT keeps the data alive. | © 2025 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com (text and photo)