Eight in Ten Arrested in Stockholm Are Children As Violent Crime Surges

A Swedish police officer has claimed that children as young as 14 are being arrested for firearm violence and that eight in ten arrested in Stockholm are under the age of eighteen.

Max Åkerwall, deputy commander for firearm violence at the Stockholm police, has claimed that violent crimes involving criminal gangs are being increasingly perpetrated by children under the age of eighteen as gangs recruit younger and younger members.

“Of those who have now been detained in the Stockholm region, about 80 per cent are under the age of 18,” Åkerwall said, the newspaper Expressen reports.

“Previously, the people were 20-25 years old, in 2022 we have seen that the age creeps down and down. Now we see that they are 14-17 when they commit these crimes,” he added.

Swedish gang expert Fredrik Gårdareadded that criminal gangs are increasingly recruiting younger members saying, “More and more younger people are in custody, which is a change in recent years. Previously, there were lighter penalties for children and teenagers, but this has changed.”

“Having younger people locked up is a concern in itself. It is a difficult task for the authorities to handle. Our justice system is not built for so many children to be involved in crime,” he said.

Over the last two weeks, the Stockholm region has seen a series of shootings and bombings linked to criminal gangs, including the fatal shooting of a notorious gang member named Mehdi ”Dumle” Sachit, who was killed on Christmas Day.

Since Christmas Day, there have been a total of nine serious incidents, including two bombings on early Monday morning this week, one of which is believed to have taken place at the residence of Swedish-Somali rapper 1.Cuz, real name Abas Abdikarim Bakar, who had posed with climate activist Greta Thunberg on social media in June of 2021.

Several have been arrested for acts of violence since Christmas, with around 80 per cent said to be under the age of 18 and 50 per cent under the age of 17. Max Åkerwal stated that there are around 1,500 known gang criminals in Stockholm and many are children.

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