End of an illusion. Sweden, one of the most egalitarian countries, is involved in a gang war

Sweden, one of the richest and most egalitarian countries in the world and a destination that many have sought to ensure a peaceful future, is today a hell with bloody street battles between gangs who fight for drug markets or violently collect debts from each other.

Gunfights between criminal gangs have escalated and widespread in Sweden, with authorities trying to contain the violence cited as voters’ biggest concern ahead of Sunday’s general elections. These fights have reached equal levels with frequent use of war grenades to bomb the homes of rivals.

“This is my son, Marley, when he was 19,” says Maritha Ogilvie, holding up the portrait of a smiling young man, one of many that adorn her Stockholm apartment.

“They shot him in the head when I was in the car with a friend, “added the 51-year-old.

The March 24, 2015 massacre in Varbygard, a poor concrete suburb in southwest Stockholm, was never cleared up and the case was dismissed 10 months later.

They are usually murders like this settle scores between rival gangs often controlled by migrant clans, according to police, and increasingly in broad daylight.

Violence is often attributed to battles over drug and arms trafficking and personal vendettas.

It has risen to such an extent that Sweden is now at the top of the European rankings deadly shootings. According to a report released last year by the National Crime Prevention Council, among 22 countries with comparable data, only Croatia has had more fatal shootings, and none have seen a stronger increase than Sweden in the past decade.

“It is very disturbing and an enigma for those of us studying this issue, “he told BBC Klara Hradilova Selin, researcher at the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.

Despite the various measures taken by the Social Democratic government to contain gangs, including harsh prison terms and increased resources for the policethe number of dead and injured continues to grow. Since January 1, 48 people have been killed by firearms in Sweden, three more than in all of 2021.

bombing with grenades

There are also frequent bombings of houses and cars as well attacks with grenades.

For the first time, crime has supplanted other welfare issues, such as health and education, as the main concern of the Swedes in Sunday’s elections.

Violence was contained in places frequented by criminals, but now spread in public spacescausing concern among Swedish municipalities accustomed to a safe and peaceful country.

On 19 August, a 31-year-old man identified as a gang leader in Malmo, Sweden’s third largest city, was shot dead in the Emporia shopping center, months after his brother’s death. A 15-year-old boy was arrested for the murder.

A week later, there was a young woman and her son wounded by stray bullets when they played in the park in Eskilstuna, a sleepy town of 67,000 people west of Stockholm.

The right-wing opposition, led by conservative moderates and far-right Swedish Democrats, promises restore “law and order” if they rise to power in the next election.

For his part, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson promised to “national offensive” against the scourge which represents “a threat to the whole of Sweden”.

According to Andersson, the escalation of crime data is due to the emergence of “parallel societies” due to “a lot of immigration and very little integration ”.

Jacob Fraiman, a former gang member who is now helping others leave that life, says he is shocked at the level of violence.

head shot

“I come from another generation, of course we also had weapons, but it didn’t happen often to shoot someone“, he said to AFP in Sodertalje, an industrial city south of Stockholm.

“Before I shot someone in the legs. Now they tell them shoot in the head “She said.

At the police station in Rinkeby, a poor Stockholm suburb, 26-year-old police officer Michael Cojocaru says he and his colleagues regularly face brutal violence and They seize assault weapons, grenades and explosives.

“It’s like a completely different society … another kind of Sweden”, commented.

Experts attribute the violent escalation to factors such as the the segregation and economic difficulties of migrants, as well as a large black market for weapons.

Maritha Ogilvie tries to understand why they killed his son. “He was just a normal guy,” he told her.

“I don’t know how they lost control of some areas (of society), but they did,” he complains. “And it keeps getting worse.”

In the BBC report, the aforementioned Klara Hradilova Selin abounds that there are at least three factors influencing the wave of gun killings sweeping through Sweden. “The existence of criminal gangs, drug trafficking and the distrust of the suburban police “accurate.

The Crime Prevention Council report indicates that more than eight out of every 10 shootings are related to organized crimea significantly higher percentage than in other countries.

This type of crime has become a major concern of the Swedes. A 2021 survey by the SOM Institute of the University of Gothenburg found that 90% of Swedes would like to see pand harder for criminals belonging to bands. That disgust strengthens the position of the more right-wing political leadership.

The risk factors cited by the Swedish researcher are repeated in other European countries, but without the same results. “There are gangs and drug trafficking in other countries too, such as France or England, but no other nation has seen the same increase in shootings in Sweden“, adds Hradilova Selin.

“In England and Wales, for example, it can be said that there is a similar type of violence on the rise, but with a different method: killings with knives.”

“The context, however, is similar: it happens in the suburbs or in depressed areas, the victims are young and there is often a link with drug trafficking.”

Most of the firearm deaths in Sweden occur in men between 20 and 29 years old.

Stockholm. With agency relationship