Stockholm reeling after weekend of escalating street violence    

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (CN) — Swedes are fearing a summer of street violence after a 15-year-old boy and a middle-aged man were shot and killed while two other civilians were wounded in the suburban Farsta neighborhood of Stockholm over the weekend.

The shootings happened Saturday outside a central metro station, and two men in their 20s have since been arrested. Some locals told the national broadcaster SVT how they feel that violent incidents have sadly become the norm in the area.

Farsta’s public school quickly arranged psychological talks for its young students, and in just two days the community managed to raise $21,000 to help kick-start summer activities for kids. The goal is to keep children off the streets and in a safe environment.

At a press meeting Tuesday morning, Magdalena Andersson, leader of the Social Democratic Party warned that the government must spend more money on crime prevention and introduce a new weapon amnesty, so people who carry illegal weapons can hand them over to police authorities without risking prosecution. Andersson also said that children should be a specific target group for police efforts.

On Sunday, Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemned the shootings on Facebook and promised to introduce extra care for children who grow up in criminal environments.

The prime minister also stated that “more [criminals] will be locked up much longer, some indefinitely. More people will be banned from their old districts or municipalities. More will be deported and not allowed to return.”

On Friday evening alone, there were three other shootings in the residential areas of Solna and Jordbro, around 20 miles south of Stockholm, for a total of seven weekend shootings. The incidents have sparked a collective national fear in Sweden for a summer with escalating street violence.

Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer visited Farsta on Sunday and stated that Sweden is facing a serious situation.

“It has been a terrible day with new brutal shootings. We are mobilizing new resources and tools to prevent more shootings, disrupt the financial flow of criminal gangs and toughen the punishment for the most serious crimes,” Strömmer said, adding that it will take time to break the current patterns.

For years, Sweden has struggled with street violence, and it is not unusual for youngsters to be involved. In 2022, the country set a grim record with 62 deadly shootings. Like the latest one, many of these shootings were in smaller residential neighborhoods and involved young people.

Jerzy Sarnecki, criminology professor at Stockholm University, sounded the alarm in an interview with Courthouse News a year ago.

“I wouldn’t even call it gang shootings. They happen mostly in very loosely composed criminal networks and usually over insignificant conflicts that lead to excessive violence,” Sarnecki said at the time.

In 2023, shootings are on the decline. The total number of fatal shootings stands at 18, which is a lot lower than last year’s 30 by June.

Criminal reporter Diamant Salihu underscored recently on Swedish television how Stockholm’s police force has received a lot of extra resources. But even though the cops are managing to catch more perpetrators, he said they are also seeing an increasing number of young criminals, who commit crime “in the open.”

“When I talk with police people who work in this field, they are met by a complete indifference from these youngsters. Because they act in front of surveillance cameras, during daytime where there are many witnesses, and they do not seem to care that they can be caught,” Salihu said.

Gang and street violence was a big issue in last year’s national elections in Sweden.

The current right-wing government has introduced stricter laws against crime, such as more mandatory detentions, stricter penalties and the possibility to withdraw residency permits for anyone who shows “shortcomings in their moral character."