The mother of a 12-year-old shot and killed in the crossfire of a Swedish gang conflict confronted Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, demanding the next Swedish government do more to tackle the growing violence.
The mother of 12-year-old Adriana, who was shot and killed outside a McDonald’s just south of Stockholm while walking her dog in 2020, appeared during an election debate between Prime Minister Andersson, the leader of the Swedish Social Democrats, and centre-right Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson.
“How do you think it feels to lose a child because you failed to stop these criminals?” the woman, named Susanne, asked the leaders of both parties, broadcaster SVT reports.
Moderates leader Kristersson replied to the question by saying that “No other country in Europe has it like we do. We have the worst serious crime.”
The Moderates have proposed to examine other countries and their methods for tackling gang crime, particularly neighbouring Denmark, which has tougher penalties for gang activity.
Prime Minister Andersson, whose Social Democrats have ruled over a Sweden that has seen record numbers of fatal shootings, said that she was glad Susanne was at the debate.
“[W]e have to see the whole problem for the whole solution,” Andersson said, adding that more needed to be done to prevent people from joining criminal gangs, such as working with local schools.
However, the answers did not satisfy the mother of the murdered 12-year-old. She demanded more be done, saying: “It’s crazy that I’m standing here and that I need to raise this issue. I want things to happen.”
Sweden’s yearly record number of fatal shootings was already matched this year in August.
Several times in recent years, children have been caught in the crossfire of deadly gang violence. Late last month, for example, a woman and her young child were shot in the city of Eskilstuna while at a playground in the Årby area of the city.
According to local school officials in the area, some children have asked whether or not they can have bulletproof vests to wear because they are so fearful they may be the next victims of gun violence.