A teenager has been arrested in Sweden accused of shooting dead a man in his 50s in Malmö late Monday night. Police believe the assassination was a case of mistaken identity amid escalating gang warfare.
According to information provided to TV4 Nyheterna, the actual target of the attack was believed to be a 25-year-old man with a heavy criminal record who was registered at the same address as the victim. The intended target is well-known to authorities and has multiple links to the criminal underworld, which is rapidly growing throughout Scandinavia.
“We suspect that a person has been shot through a window,” said Patric Fors, press spokesperson for the Malmö police.
The victim, who had no prior criminal record, was found dead at the scene after reportedly being shot through the balcony door when he answered a knock. A relative discovered him lying on the floor and attempted to resuscitate him while waiting for emergency services.
Shortly after the incident, police arrested a 16-year-old boy who had reportedly escaped from an HVB home, a type of youth care facility. A hand grenade was found during the arrest, and the teenager is now in custody on suspicion of murder and aggravated weapons offenses.
“The person will be questioned during the day and was arrested in the area,” confirmed Fors.
The ethnicity of the suspect has not been disclosed by the authorities.
Police officers cordoned off a large area near the crime scene to investigate and reportedly discovered two pistols, a Kalashnikov rifle, and three grenades near the crime scene.
The incident is part of a larger pattern of violent crime in Malmö, much of which is tied to gang-related conflicts but also highlights the concerning trend of minors being used to carry out violent crime on behalf of predominantly migrant gangs.
Although this minor is believed to be 16 years of age, many criminal acts are ordered by gang leaders to be committed by those under the age of 15 meaning perpetrators have not reached the age of responsibility in Sweden and cannot be convicted.
In October last year, a 16-year-old boy was arrested in Tullinge, south of Stockholm, on suspicion of committing three murders and two attempted murders in separate gang-related incidents within a 24-hour period.
He was caught traveling in a taxi away from the area and was found in possession of an automatic firearm, as well as an extra magazine of ammunition.
In April this year, a Polish father was shot in the head by a gang of youths in front of his 12-year-old son as they cycled towards a local swimming pool in Skärholmen, southern Stockholm.
The murder shocked the country and brought the rise in criminal gang activity to the forefront of the country’s political discourse.
“Teenage gangs are particularly dangerous, given that older members receive very serious sentences, while the young are unpunished and sometimes kill on command,” Anna Kremka, a Pole living in Sweden, told local news outlets at the time.
An Iraqi teen identified as Mohammed Khalid Mohammed Mohammed was later arrested for the murder. He was already well known to the authorities for robberies, attempted theft, assault, vandalism, and multiple drug offenses, and is facing a maximum prison sentence of 8 years due to his age.
