Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, has been overtaken by gang fights / Article

Gunta Enerūtas, a Latvian living in Stockholm, concludes that violence in Sweden has grown over the past 20 years, but what is currently happening is most likely a war between violent gangs for the distribution of the drug market.

Stockholm was once known as a very safe city, but the increase in violence has also affected the everyday life of the capital’s residents.

“I know that some follow the children to school, limit the children’s opportunities to go out in the evenings,” says Eneruta.

However, she points out that the level of risk depends very much on the area of ​​the city. “Our districts have not been affected by such problems. Of course, there is internal insecurity, fear. But people continue to live their daily lives.”

Shootings took place in several locations in Stockholm over the weekend, killing one person and injuring another. On the other hand, there is an explosion near an apartment building.

Since December 25, when a 27-year-old member of a local gang was shot dead in the Rinkeby neighborhood, the Stockholm area has seen regular bloody shootings and bombings.

The police have registered at least 21 incidents in which three people have lost their lives and several others have been injured.

Authorities believe the city has been gripped by fighting between several rival gangs, but have not released details.

In turn, the media reports that a war has broken out between two gangs who want to control the drug business in the city of Sundsvall, located almost 400 kilometers north of Stockholm.

The nickname of the leader of one gang is “Kurdish fox”, while the leader of the other gang is known as “Greek”. It is likely that none of them are in Sweden.

Most of the members of both gangs are young people born in Sweden from immigrant families.

Since December, the police have made about 30 arrests in connection with the shootings and bombings. This week, police are stepping up patrols in Stockholm’s worst-hit suburbs. An additional 290 police officers from other regions of Sweden have been recruited for this purpose.

The decision is supported by the Swedish police union, but its head, Katarina von Sydow, believes a long-term solution is needed.

“There is no doubt that in this very serious situation we have to gather our strength and help Stockholm. But in order for us to deal with this in the long term, we need enough police officers both in Stockholm and in the rest of Sweden,” Sydova told Swedish Radio.

Malmö, Sweden’s third-largest city, has also been plagued by gang violence in the past, but there have been no fatal shootings in months. The security situation in Malmö improved after the police caught local gang leaders.

Report a bug