Timeline: Sweden's deadliest month for shootings in four years
September has seen eleven shooting-related deaths in Sweden, the deadliest month for shootings since December 2019, 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 Ismail Abdo, a former member of the Foxtrot gang, 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, who police have identified as Milo, went missing the previous Friday, and police believe his body was dumped in the area after he was murdered.
"There is information which I can't go into in more detail due to the ongoing investigation, which shows that the boy was subject to this serious and completely reckless gang violence," Lisa dos Santos, prosecutor and leader of the preliminary investigation, told Aftonbladet.
Tuesday, September 12th - fatal shooting
A 25-year-old was shot dead early on 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 the same day 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 immediately confirm whether his death is related to gang violence.
Wednesday, September 13th - fatal shooting
Late on the Wednesday night, a 19-year-old man was shot in Vasastan in central Stockholm, dying later of his injuries. Aftonbladet reported that he was ordinarily resident in Gävle where he had been running drugs for Majid, but according to his mother he had recently decided he wanted to leave the gang world.
Thursday, September 14th - fatal shooting
Another shooting, this time in Västertorp in the south of Stockholm, occurred late on September 14th. The 17-year-old boy died from 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 immediately comment on whether his death was related to the gang violence over the previous week, but said it was "not entirely improbable".
"There are a lot of indications that the events are linked to each other," press spokesperson Mats Eriksson said.
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. Police said they were investigating possible links to previous shootings or gang crime.
Sunday, September 17th - explosion in Nyköping
An explosion occurred at a house in a residential area in Nyköping on September 17th. No one was injured, but the intended target was most likely a suspected gang member, according to Södermanlands Nyheter.
Monday, September 25th - explosion at apartment block in Hässelby strand
Three people were injured in an explosion at an apartment block in Hässelby strand in western Stockholm. Over 30 people were evacuated but most were able to return to their apartments later that night.
Tuesday, September 26th
- Explosion at apartment block in Linköping
The facade was blown off an apartment block in Linköping on Tuesday morning, with public radio broadcaster Ekot reporting the explosion was linked to the ongoing gang conflict.
A woman in her mid-20s was taken to hospital for a check-up, but otherwise no one was injured in the blast, which happened at around 6am.
- Man shot outside house in Åkersberga
The man, in his 60s, was found with gunshot wounds outside a house in Åkersberga, north of Stockholm.
He was taken to hospital by helicopter and his injuries were described as serious, but he was awake and able to communicate with police when they arrived shortly after 10.30pm on September 26th. No arrests had been made at time of writing.
According to Aftonbladet and TV4 Nyheterna, the house was originally set on fire. When the man went outside to see what had happened, he was shot.
Swedish media have linked the shooting to the Foxtrot conflict, but it appears the injured man was not the intended target.
Wednesday, September 27th - government holds crisis meeting
At a meeting on September 27th, Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer called for a number of measures to cut the supply of explosives to criminals.
"This spring, the minimum penalty for illegal handling of explosives will be doubled, but more needs to be done to prevent explosions," he said. "That is why we are meeting with all the relevant groups to identify what can be done in the short and long term."
"Not a single stick of dynamite will end up in the wrong hands," Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said.
Wednesday-Thursday, September 27th-28th - three people killed in 12 hours
Three people died in two shootings and one explosion in Stockholm and Uppsala on the night between Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th, bringing the total number of people killed in shootings to 11 in just one month.
An 18-year-old man was shot dead at the Mälarhöjden sports ground in the Fruängen district of southern Stockholm, shortly after 6pm on Wednesday.
Several children’s and youth teams were on the grounds for football practice at the time.
The man was treated by ambulance workers at the scene, but died of his injuries.
Shortly before midnight, police were called out to another shooting, this time in Jordbro, south of Stockholm.
Two men were found at the scene. One of them was seriously injured and was later declared dead. The other was taken to hospital and was understood not to have life-threatening injuries.
Three suspects were on Thursday morning being held in connection with the shooting.
Then just before 4am on Thursday, a woman in her mid-20s died in an explosion at Fullerö, north of Uppsala.
A witness described the blast at the two-storey house to the Aftonbladet newspaper as “total devastation”. Other houses were also damaged, but there were no other fatalities.
Shots were fired at another house in the same street in a drive-by shooting in January.
Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT reports that a person with links to the Foxtrot gang is registered as living at the latter house, which was also damaged in the explosion. The woman who died is however just known as a neighbour without any known connections to gangs, reports SVT.
Police declined to confirm the reports, but said they were investigating potential links to gang crime.
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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 Ismail Abdo, a former member of the Foxtrot gang, 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, who police have identified as Milo, went missing the previous Friday, and police believe his body was dumped in the area after he was murdered.
"There is information which I can't go into in more detail due to the ongoing investigation, which shows that the boy was subject to this serious and completely reckless gang violence," Lisa dos Santos, prosecutor and leader of the preliminary investigation, told Aftonbladet.
Tuesday, September 12th - fatal shooting
A 25-year-old was shot dead early on 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 the same day 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 immediately confirm whether his death is related to gang violence.
Wednesday, September 13th - fatal shooting
Late on the Wednesday night, a 19-year-old man was shot in Vasastan in central Stockholm, dying later of his injuries. Aftonbladet reported that he was ordinarily resident in Gävle where he had been running drugs for Majid, but according to his mother he had recently decided he wanted to leave the gang world.
Thursday, September 14th - fatal shooting
Another shooting, this time in Västertorp in the south of Stockholm, occurred late on September 14th. The 17-year-old boy died from 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 immediately comment on whether his death was related to the gang violence over the previous week, but said it was "not entirely improbable".
"There are a lot of indications that the events are linked to each other," press spokesperson Mats Eriksson said.
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. Police said they were investigating possible links to previous shootings or gang crime.
Sunday, September 17th - explosion in Nyköping
An explosion occurred at a house in a residential area in Nyköping on September 17th. No one was injured, but the intended target was most likely a suspected gang member, according to Södermanlands Nyheter.
Monday, September 25th - explosion at apartment block in Hässelby strand
Three people were injured in an explosion at an apartment block in Hässelby strand in western Stockholm. Over 30 people were evacuated but most were able to return to their apartments later that night.
Tuesday, September 26th
- Explosion at apartment block in Linköping
The facade was blown off an apartment block in Linköping on Tuesday morning, with public radio broadcaster Ekot reporting the explosion was linked to the ongoing gang conflict.
A woman in her mid-20s was taken to hospital for a check-up, but otherwise no one was injured in the blast, which happened at around 6am.
- Man shot outside house in Åkersberga
The man, in his 60s, was found with gunshot wounds outside a house in Åkersberga, north of Stockholm.
He was taken to hospital by helicopter and his injuries were described as serious, but he was awake and able to communicate with police when they arrived shortly after 10.30pm on September 26th. No arrests had been made at time of writing.
According to Aftonbladet and TV4 Nyheterna, the house was originally set on fire. When the man went outside to see what had happened, he was shot.
Swedish media have linked the shooting to the Foxtrot conflict, but it appears the injured man was not the intended target.
Wednesday, September 27th - government holds crisis meeting
At a meeting on September 27th, Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer called for a number of measures to cut the supply of explosives to criminals.
"This spring, the minimum penalty for illegal handling of explosives will be doubled, but more needs to be done to prevent explosions," he said. "That is why we are meeting with all the relevant groups to identify what can be done in the short and long term."
"Not a single stick of dynamite will end up in the wrong hands," Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said.
Wednesday-Thursday, September 27th-28th - three people killed in 12 hours
Three people died in two shootings and one explosion in Stockholm and Uppsala on the night between Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th, bringing the total number of people killed in shootings to 11 in just one month.
An 18-year-old man was shot dead at the Mälarhöjden sports ground in the Fruängen district of southern Stockholm, shortly after 6pm on Wednesday.
Several children’s and youth teams were on the grounds for football practice at the time.
The man was treated by ambulance workers at the scene, but died of his injuries.
Shortly before midnight, police were called out to another shooting, this time in Jordbro, south of Stockholm.
Two men were found at the scene. One of them was seriously injured and was later declared dead. The other was taken to hospital and was understood not to have life-threatening injuries.
Three suspects were on Thursday morning being held in connection with the shooting.
Then just before 4am on Thursday, a woman in her mid-20s died in an explosion at Fullerö, north of Uppsala.
A witness described the blast at the two-storey house to the Aftonbladet newspaper as “total devastation”. Other houses were also damaged, but there were no other fatalities.
Shots were fired at another house in the same street in a drive-by shooting in January.
Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT reports that a person with links to the Foxtrot gang is registered as living at the latter house, which was also damaged in the explosion. The woman who died is however just known as a neighbour without any known connections to gangs, reports SVT.
Police declined to confirm the reports, but said they were investigating potential links to gang crime.
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