Timeline: Seven fatal shootings in ten days in Sweden
Sweden saw seven fatal shootings and at least one attempted shooting around Uppsala and Stockholm in the space of ten days, in what police chief Anders Thornberg has described as an 'unprecedented' wave of gang killings.
Thursday, September 7th - fatal shooting
A woman in her 60s was shot in the Gränby area of Uppsala early on September 7th. According to Swedish media, the woman in question was the mother of a gang leader, and her murder may have been a revenge shooting after an attack on Foxtrot leader Rawa Majid, also known as “the Kurdish fox”, at his hideout in Istanbul, Turkey.
Sunday, September 10th - attempted shooting
Shots were fired at a building in the Stenhagen area of Uppsala. Rawa Majid's mother-in-law, who lives close by, told Expressen she is living in fear. Police believe the shots were meant for her, but the shooters got the wrong address.
Monday, September 11th - fatal shooting
The body of a thirteen-year-old boy who had been shot in the head was found in a small forested area in Haninge, south of Stockholm. The boy reportedly went missing the previous Friday, and police believe his body was dumped in the area after he was murdered. Police are keeping tight-lipped and have not released any details of who he is, or why he may have been murdered, although they did appear to link his death to gang crime in a statement.
"What I can say is that we are dealing with an extremely serious suspected crime, more specifically the murder of a very young person," said Lisa dos Santos, prosecutor and leader of the preliminary investigation.
"The fact that the the victim was so young is in itself terrible, and shows yet another dimension of the merciless, serious wave of violence. Now we are working to find out what has happened to this boy."
Tuesday, September 12th - fatal shooting
A 25-year-old was shot dead in the early hours of September 12th in the Sala backe area of Uppsala. He worked in the elderly care sector and had moved to Uppsala to study law. It appears shooters mistook him for the relative of a gang member.
Uppsala police on Tuesday launched a so-called “special incident” in response to the spate of violence in Uppsala. Known as a särskild händelse in Swedish, a special incident can be launched to deal with a range of issues which the relevant police unit needs extra help with.
It usually means that a temporary task force is set up to focus solely on the specified problem, and the chief of the task force is given powers to make decisions and allocate resources to the problem in question.
Tuesday, September 12th - fatal shooting
A man in his 20s was shot outdoors in Helenelund in Sollentuna, north of Stockholm, later dying of his injuries. Police did not confirm whether his death was related to gang violence.
Wednesday, September 13th - fatal shooting
Late on Wednesday night, a man in his 20s was shot in Vasastan in central Stockholm, dying later of his injuries. According to Swedish media, his death is related to shootings in Uppsala.
Wednesday, September 13th - police hold press conference
"There have recently been murders and explosions on an unprecedented scale," police chief Anders Thornberg told a press conference on September 14th.
"Several boys aged between 13 and 15 have been killed, the mother of a criminal was executed at home, and a young man in Uppsala was shot dead on his way to work", he added.
The police chief emphasised that the orders often came from high-level gang criminals based abroad, without mentioning any nationalities.
Thursday, September 14th - fatal shooting
Another shooting, this time in Västertorp in the south of Stockholm, occurred late on Thursday. The victim, who police describe as being an "older teenager" died of his injuries in hospital on Friday 15th. Police suspect he may have been shot at a different location to where he was found.
Police would not comment on whether his death was related to the gang violence over the previous week.
Saturday, September 16th - fatal shooting
A man in his 40s was shot dead in Råcksta, northwest Stockholm. The shooting occurred "outdoors in a residential area," police press spokesperson Per Fahlström told TT newswire.
He added that there could be multiple suspects.
According to police, mopeds and cars were involved, but no arrests have yet been made.
They are investigating whether the shooting on Saturday could be related to previous shootings or gang crime.
This means that there have now been seven fatal shootings in the space of ten days, with at least five shootings in that period believed to be related to the recent wave of gang violence.
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Thursday, September 7th - fatal shooting
A woman in her 60s was shot in the Gränby area of Uppsala early on September 7th. According to Swedish media, the woman in question was the mother of a gang leader, and her murder may have been a revenge shooting after an attack on Foxtrot leader Rawa Majid, also known as “the Kurdish fox”, at his hideout in Istanbul, Turkey.
Sunday, September 10th - attempted shooting
Shots were fired at a building in the Stenhagen area of Uppsala. Rawa Majid's mother-in-law, who lives close by, told Expressen she is living in fear. Police believe the shots were meant for her, but the shooters got the wrong address.
Monday, September 11th - fatal shooting
The body of a thirteen-year-old boy who had been shot in the head was found in a small forested area in Haninge, south of Stockholm. The boy reportedly went missing the previous Friday, and police believe his body was dumped in the area after he was murdered. Police are keeping tight-lipped and have not released any details of who he is, or why he may have been murdered, although they did appear to link his death to gang crime in a statement.
"What I can say is that we are dealing with an extremely serious suspected crime, more specifically the murder of a very young person," said Lisa dos Santos, prosecutor and leader of the preliminary investigation.
"The fact that the the victim was so young is in itself terrible, and shows yet another dimension of the merciless, serious wave of violence. Now we are working to find out what has happened to this boy."
Tuesday, September 12th - fatal shooting
A 25-year-old was shot dead in the early hours of September 12th in the Sala backe area of Uppsala. He worked in the elderly care sector and had moved to Uppsala to study law. It appears shooters mistook him for the relative of a gang member.
Uppsala police on Tuesday launched a so-called “special incident” in response to the spate of violence in Uppsala. Known as a särskild händelse in Swedish, a special incident can be launched to deal with a range of issues which the relevant police unit needs extra help with.
It usually means that a temporary task force is set up to focus solely on the specified problem, and the chief of the task force is given powers to make decisions and allocate resources to the problem in question.
Tuesday, September 12th - fatal shooting
A man in his 20s was shot outdoors in Helenelund in Sollentuna, north of Stockholm, later dying of his injuries. Police did not confirm whether his death was related to gang violence.
Wednesday, September 13th - fatal shooting
Late on Wednesday night, a man in his 20s was shot in Vasastan in central Stockholm, dying later of his injuries. According to Swedish media, his death is related to shootings in Uppsala.
Wednesday, September 13th - police hold press conference
"There have recently been murders and explosions on an unprecedented scale," police chief Anders Thornberg told a press conference on September 14th.
"Several boys aged between 13 and 15 have been killed, the mother of a criminal was executed at home, and a young man in Uppsala was shot dead on his way to work", he added.
The police chief emphasised that the orders often came from high-level gang criminals based abroad, without mentioning any nationalities.
Thursday, September 14th - fatal shooting
Another shooting, this time in Västertorp in the south of Stockholm, occurred late on Thursday. The victim, who police describe as being an "older teenager" died of his injuries in hospital on Friday 15th. Police suspect he may have been shot at a different location to where he was found.
Police would not comment on whether his death was related to the gang violence over the previous week.
Saturday, September 16th - fatal shooting
A man in his 40s was shot dead in Råcksta, northwest Stockholm. The shooting occurred "outdoors in a residential area," police press spokesperson Per Fahlström told TT newswire.
He added that there could be multiple suspects.
According to police, mopeds and cars were involved, but no arrests have yet been made.
They are investigating whether the shooting on Saturday could be related to previous shootings or gang crime.
This means that there have now been seven fatal shootings in the space of ten days, with at least five shootings in that period believed to be related to the recent wave of gang violence.
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