A 12-year-old girl was shot dead by a stray bullet at a gas station in Hallunda, Stockholm in what has been described as a gang shootout.
After Hallunda residents were awakened by shots late Saturday into Sunday, the body of the girl was found near the gas station.
"I thought it was rockets or something", a local man told the newspaper Aftonbladet. Another local said he heard a total of 15-20 bangs. "I thought these were bombs. I don't think it was ordinary guns", he said.
The girl was rushed to a local hospital, but her life could not be saved. On Sunday, the police conducted a crime scene investigation and secured evidence on the spot. The crime is currently being investigated as murder, and no arrests have been made.
"At the moment, no arrests have been made, but several people have been brought in for questioning and these are people who, on good grounds, may contribute to the investigation", police chief Carolina Paasikivi said.
According to the Botkyrka municipality, a memorial site has been established at the gas station.
Worried locals described the area as generally unsafe, and many pledged not to set foot anywhere near it, let alone allow their children in the area.
The death of an innocent girl has spurred reactions from high-ranking politicians in Sweden.
"I am aware that no words are enough for one who has lost a child in this terrible way, but I still want to say that our thoughts go out to you and that we share your grief in this difficult time. On the part of the government, we will continue to vigorously expand society's ability to fight crime with more police, tougher penalties, and preventive work", Interior Minister Mikael Damberg said.
Justice Minister Morgan Johansson called the incident a heinous atrocity.
"Now all available means are deployed to arrest these perpetrators. Those who know anything about this atrocity should contact the police. If you do not do that, you risk committing a crime yourself, because protecting a criminal is also a very serious crime", Johansson said.
"It is endlessly sad that the gross violence in Sweden continues to reap so many victims. The thoughts go mainly to the girl's relatives. A proper overhaul of legal policy is needed to make Sweden safer", the Moderate Party's legal spokesman Johan Forsell tweeted.
Det är bottenlöst sorgligt att det grova våldet i Sverige fortsätter att skörda så många offer. Tankarna går främst till flickans anhöriga. Det krävs ett ordentligt omtag i rättspolitiken för att göra Sverige tryggare. https://t.co/NuShitsttV
— Johan Forssell (@JohanForssell) August 2, 2020
Over the past decade, the number of shootouts in Sweden has gone through the roof. In the early 90s, an average of four people a year were murdered in criminal shootouts, now that average is 40, criminologist Mikael Rying explained, suggesting that the nature of organised crime in Sweden has changed.
"In the early 90s, there were a lot of drug deals where someone was shot in a garage or an apartment. Then came the motorcycle gangs during the second half of the 90s with special rules for both entry and exit. There was order in these groups. Since the second half of the 00s, it's begun to be more like the Wild West", Rying told Aftonbladet.
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