Six people were injured in a shooting on Friday night in the town of Gävle, Sweden. Gunfire erupted around 2 a.m. local time on a lively street lined with bars, restaurants, and shops, where people were out enjoying the evening. Swedish Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer described the incident as as “a very serious and ruthless act of violence.”
None of the victims—all teens—sustained life-threatening injuries, but all required hospital care, police spokesman Tobias Ahlén-Svalbro told Expressen.
Police quickly arrested a young suspect—according to state broadcaster SVT, a 13-year-old—near the scene. The boy is being held on suspicion of attempted murder and aggravated weapons offenses and was questioned on Saturday. It’s unclear whether he will be kept in custody.
SVT, citing unnamed sources, said the boy had gang connections.
During a press conference, police spokesman Karin Wessén said police have a fairly clear picture of what happened but “don’t want to say anything about the motive” other than that they had ruled out terrorism.
Gang-related youth crime in Sweden has become an acute problem, with minors being recruited to commit murder-for-hire by criminal migrant gangs, sometimes across national borders. Last month, the government revealed plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13. Only last week, the country announced plans to incarcerate minors convicted of violent crime rather than send them to ‘youth homes.’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who recently exchanged words with his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, on social media over the effects of mass migration on Swedish society, sent his deepest condolences to Kristersson and the Swedish people.
Gävle, located along Sweden’s east coast about 86 miles north of Stockholm, is home to about 80,000 people.
