A 16 -year -old boy was arrested under suspicion of murder in Sweden, the authorities said Wednesday, after three people received a fatal shot the previous day, in the last blow to a country with high levels of armed violence.
The three victims were found in a hairdresser in the city of Uppsala, about 43 miles from Stockholm, the capital. They were between 15 and 20 years old, according to the police, but they had no public identified legs.
The reason was not clear, but the police, who said they responded to the reports of “strong muds” shortly after 5 pm, said they insign if the shooting had been related to gangs.
“We cannot say that it has a clear connection with any gang conflict at this time, but it is one of the ideas in which we are working especially intensely,” said Erik Akerlund, head of the Uppsala Police and the special incident command, at a press conference.
The suspect teenager, who was not identified, had recently fled from a group house for children, Magnus Berggren, deputy chief prosecutor of Uppsala, Dering said a press conference later on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, condemned the shooting as “a terrible act” and regretted that “brutal and ruthless violence is shaking our country once again.”
Despite its reputation for a high standard of living, Sweden has been full of one of the high rates of armed violence in the European Union, and violent crime has increased in recent years. The country experienced its worst mass shooting in February, when an open man shot at an adult education center, killing 10 people.
Factors such as the age of the suspect indicate that the shooting can be related to the gangs, said Diamant Salihu, investigation journalist of the Swedish station of the public service, SVT, and the author of two books on violence of gangs and criminal networks in Sweden.
“Duration in the last decade, we have seen an escalation of mortal shootings,” said Salihu. “More recent, the change is that there are many young shooters who do it for payment and the state,” he added.
The shooting occurred ahead of Walpurgis celebrations, where the Swedes celebrate the beginning of spring with public bonfires. Police said there was no current danger to the public.
