An 18-year-old young man had his ear partially or totally cut off by a youth gang who are said to have robbed him of everything except his underwear.
The incident took place late on Tuesday night at around 11 pm, in the central Gothenburg district of Landala and saw the teen attacked by a group of around ten people according to local investigators, newspaper Goteborgs Posten reports.
Local police officer Morten Gunneng described the incident as, “a nasty robbery from start to finish,” and described the injuries to the teen as, “a real cut in the ear, it is completely or partially cut off.” The mob also kicked and punched the victim.
The 18-year-old was also taken to the hospital by police, and no arrests have been made in connection with the case so far.
“We have searched with a dog for the suspected offenders in the area,” Gunneng said and added, “The patrols have secured some tracks, but exactly what, I cannot say. They have also heard several witnesses, so there is more work to be done.”
The case highlights the growing problem with gang crime and insecurity in Sweden’s cities, a fact that was highlighted by local residents in Gothenburg in July of this year.
Imad El-Saneh, a local taxi driver, commented on the current state of the city saying, “It has become much worse than in the 90s. It’s more people, more drugs and people care less about what they do.”
The brutal robbery also comes just days after the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy in the southern city of Malmo that occurred over the weekend.
Gang crime has reached such highs in Sweden that the populist Sweden Democrats and the centre-right Moderate Party have been voted to hold a motion of confidence in the current Justice Minister Morgan Johansson, with a vote on the matter expected later in the week.