Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has expressed condolences to Sweden following the mass shooting in Gävle on Saturday night, in which a 14-year-old boy opened fire outside a restaurant, injuring six people.
Orbán wrote on social media that he was “praying for all Swedes seeking safety in their own communities” following the latest attack in the Scandinavian country plagued by gang violence.
The shooting occurred around 2 a.m. in Gävle’s Söder district. Police found six people wounded, all young adults, several aged 18. Four victims remain in the hospital, though none are in life-threatening condition. According to police, the suspect — described by Swedish media as a 14-year-old from the Gävleborg area — was apprehended shortly after the attack and has alleged ties to a criminal gang.
My deepest condolences to @SwedishPM, Ulf Kristersson, and the people of Sweden, following the heinous shooting in Gävle. We pray for the victims, their families, their parents, and for all Swedes seeking safety in their own communities. 🙏
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) October 4, 2025Because the suspect is under 15, he cannot be held criminally responsible under current Swedish law; the case has been referred to social services. The government has announced plans to temporarily lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13, but the reform has not yet taken effect.
Karin Wessén, head of investigations in Gävleborg, said the police had made “several interesting seizures” and now had “a good picture of the course of events,” including from digital evidence. Aftonbladet reported that the case is being investigated as six counts of attempted murder and aggravated weapons offences.
The attack came less than a month after two 14-year-old boys with a migration background were arrested for a grenade attack on a family villa while family members, including children, were inside in Eskilstuna back in April. Again, due to their age, they cannot be found criminally responsible, something gangs take advantage of by using minors to perpetrate their crimes.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a statement that the shooting “shakes all of us” and emphasized the importance of continuing the government’s “comprehensive reorientation of policy” aimed at restoring security. “The police are doing everything they can to find out what happened, prosecute those responsible, and create safety and calm,” he wrote.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer described the incident as marked by “extreme ruthlessness” and called it another dark example of Sweden’s spiralling gang violence. “If it is true that the person holding the weapon is under 15 years old, it is yet another grim example of how far the violence has penetrated down the age groups,” he said, stressing that his ministry was in continuous contact with police.
In Gävle, police increased their visible presence in public places over the weekend. “These types of events create insecurity,” Wessén said. “That’s why we will continue to be visible and accessible to the public.”
Orbán’s public sympathy for the Swedish victims follows months of friction between Budapest and Stockholm, which only recently concluded its NATO accession process after Hungary delayed ratification for over a year.
The two EU member states locked horns over remarks made by Swedish lawmakers about democracy in Hungary, while officials in Budapest hit back over the damning consequences of liberal policies and mass immigration across the Scandinavian country.
Remix News reported last October that, according to Swedish government data, three out of four murders are committed by migrants, and the rate of gun murders per capita in Stockholm is 30 times that of London.
In 2018 alone, 162 bomb blasts rocked the country — almost one every two days. In Sweden, the number of fatal shootings has increased significantly since 2017, resulting in a record-high number of shooting murders.
In January of this year, there was more than one explosion recorded per day across the country as bomb and grenade attacks became commonplace.
“Sweden is facing an epidemic of shootings and bombings unmatched in the Western world. It is reasonable to address the reality that criminals are getting younger,” Strömmer said at the time.
