Sweden: Fatal Shootings in First 3 Months of 2022 Over Triple That of 2021

In the first three months of this year, Swedish police statistics have recorded over three times as many fatal shootings as the same period in 2021 and the most shootings within the period in the last five years.

The first three months of 2022 have seen 17 people shot dead across Sweden, with seven fatal shootings in January, six in February and another four taking place last month in March. The figure is considerably higher than the same three-month period in 2021 when five people were killed in shootings.

In 2021, which saw a total of 47 fatal shootings for the entire year, it took until the month of May to reach 17 fatal shootings. 2021 was tried with 2020 for the record number of fatal shootings in Sweden since statistics began and the country has seen over 40 fatal shootings per year since 2017.

The number of shootings, lethal or otherwise, has also increased so far this year. Last year there were 56 shootings during the first three months, while in 2022 the number has increased to 89.

The number of explosions in Sweden has also increased in the first three months of this year in comparison to 2021, with police statistics reporting 26 detonations in the first three months of this year compared to 23 detonations last year.

Both explosions and fatal shootings are largely linked to Sweden’s ongoing problems with gang crime and the violence often involve one gang targeting a rival or rivals from another criminal gang.

Last year in June, Gothenburg area police chief Erik Nord admitted that much of the fatal gun violence was linked to mass migration.

“It is no longer a secret today that much of the problem of gang and network crime with the shootings and explosions have been linked to migration to Sweden in recent decades,” Nord said and added, “When, like me, you have the opportunity to follow matters at the individual level, you see that virtually everyone who shoots or is shot in gang conflicts originates from the Balkans, the Middle East, North or East Africa.”

 

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.