Deadly violence continues in Sweden, claims lives of three in separate overnight attacks

At least three people were killed in Sweden in separate incidents after deadly violence, which was linked to a rivalry between criminal gangs, aggravated.

In one of the incidents, an 18-year-old man was shot dead in a Stockholm suburb late on Wednesday (Sept 27). Hours later, another man was killed and one was injured in a shooting that occurred in Jordbro, south of the Swedish capital.

Early on Thursday (Sept 28), an explosion, that took place in the Uppsala area, in the west of Stockholm, claimed the life of a woman who was in her 20s. As per Swedish media reports, the blast damaged five houses and is being treated as a murder. It further said that the woman who died in the incident was likely not the target.

According to Swedish broadcaster SVT, the recent incidents of fatal shootings bring the toll of people who lost their lives to gun violence in the month of September to 11. So far, September has been recorded as the deadliest month for shootings since police started maintaining statistics in the year 2016.

It is not yet clear if the incident of the shooting and the explosion were related to each other, but as per Swedish media reports, at least two of the three incidents were linked to a feud between criminal gangs

As per Associated Press reports, two gangs, one of which is led by a Swedish-Turkish dual national who lives in Turkey and the other by his former lieutenant, are reportedly engaged in a conflict over drugs and weapons.

Three people, who were suspected of hatching a fatal shooting conspiracy in Jordbro have reportedly been detained. Police released a statement saying that two people have been arrested over the Uppsala blast, which was so strong that it blew away the facades of two houses.

Earlier this week, two explosions, one of them in the capital Stockholm, rocked central Sweden during the intervening night of Sept 25 and Sept 26.

One of the blasts occurred late on Monday (Sep 25) in Hasselby, a suburb of Swedish capital Stockholm. The second one took place in Linkoping, about 175 kilometres (110 miles) to the southwest. The blast in Linkoping ripped the facade off a three-storey building.

The gang feuds are fast becoming a growing problem in Sweden.

This year, there have been 261 shootings in which a total of 36 people were killed while 73 others were injured.

As per the Swedish news agency TT, the national government is planning to hold a meeting to decide on measures to fight gang violence.

“We are now bringing together all relevant actors to jointly identify what can be done in the short and long term,” said Gunnar Strömmer, Sweden's Minister for Justice and Civil Defense.

(With inputs from agencies)

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