Violent riots continued over the weekend in Swedish cities in reaction to anti-Islam Qu’ran-burning activists, with three people shot and injured by police in Norrköping and a school set on fire in Malmo.
Since Thursday, Sweden has seen rioting across several cities in response to the activities of Danish anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan and his group Stram Kurs (Hard Line), who have held or have promised to hold demonstrations across the country, which have included the burning of the Islamic Qu’ran.
On Sunday, a violent riot broke out in the city of Norrköping, with around 150 people taking part in the violence. Three protesters were injured after police fired warning shots following a group of people attacking officers, according to a statement from the police.
Police say the three people were injured as a result of the ricochet of bullets fired as warning shots by the officers and all three were taken to a local hospital to treat their injuries. The three were also arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. In total, the rioting is said to have lasted just over five hours.
In the southern multicultural city of Malmo, police were alerted to cars being set on fire by rioters shortly before 11 pm on Sunday evening in the no-go area of Rosengård.
“It started with several people carrying out car tires, debris and garbage and setting them on fire, and also stealing rental car trailers from a petrol station,” police spokesman Patric Fors told newspaper Expressen.
“We are trying to get the emergency services in, but we are met with an intense stone-throwing from young people,” Fors said and noted around a hundred people took part in the rioting.
At around midnight, a local school in the area was also set on fire, causing extensive damage to buildings housing classrooms for elementary students.
“The school will continue to be a safe place even if one of the buildings is destroyed,” the school’s principal Cecilia Larsson told broadcaster SVT.
An anti-riot police officer stands next to a city bus burning in Malmo, on April 16, 2022. The unrest in Malmo has continued after Rasmus Paludan, party leader of the Danish right-wing extremist party Stram Kurs, held a demonstration on April 16, 2022, at Skanegarden near the Oresund Bridge. (Photo: JOHAN NILSSON/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images)
The rioting in Malmo is said to have gone on until around 3 am on Monday and police used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the rioting mob. At least eight people were arrested over the course of the evening.
On Monday, Swedish National Police Chief Anders Thornberg gave a press conference regarding the multiple days of rioting, saying, “These are not ordinary counter-protesters, we have strong suspicions that those who attack police and emergency services are connected to criminal gangs.”
Over the course of the riots at least 26 police officers were injured, 20 police vehicles were either damaged or destroyed and 14 members of the public have been injured over the course of the last several days.
Two cars are burning in a parking lot during rioting in Norrkoping, Sweden on April 17, 2022. (Photo: STEFAN JERREVANG/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)
“We have said for a long time that there is a particularly serious situation with crime in the country. What we have seen in recent days are serious symptoms of a larger problem in Sweden,” Thornberg said.
Johan Forssell, the legal policy spokesperson for the centre-right Moderate Party, slammed the government and Swedish Justice Minister Morgan Johansson over the rioting.
“The basis for the almost warlike scenes in our Swedish cities is the government’s inability to fight gang crime. Morgan Johansson has had eight years to come to terms with the problems. Instead, we are seeing a development where things are rapidly getting much worse. It is quite obvious that the government and Morgan Johansson have lost control,” Forsell said on Monday.