Molotov Cocktails Thrown at Swedish Police During Second Night of Rioting

A molotov cocktail thrown by protesters explodes in front of riot police in the central di
ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images

Several police officers in the Swedish city of Gothenburg were attacked with Molotov cocktails by “young men” in the second night of rioting in the “no-go” Hammarkullen area.

Police say the rioting originally started on Saturday evening when they were attacked by several “youths” who threw rocks at them. The officers decided to increase their presence the following day but were attacked once again in the evening by more young men, this time armed with Molotov cocktails, Göteborgs-Posten reports.

At 9:53 pm on Sunday evening, police were called to the area after receiving a call about a car being on fire in a local garage. As soon as the officers arrived, they were attacked by young men who threw a Molotov cocktail at them.

Police spokesman Thomas Fuxborg stressed the danger of the attack saying: “Of course it is highly dangerous as uniforms or anything else could ignite.”

Officers discovered a cache of nine more Molotovs in the area and confiscated them. Three young men aged between 18 and 20 were arrested at the scene after they attempted to flee.

“One of them had plastic gloves on that smelled of gasoline. So we’ll see if we can connect some of those suspected of involvement to those in any way involved in the riots,” Fuxborg said.

After midnight, the area returned to a relative calm. So far, authorities have produced two charges of rioting, one of assaulting a police officer and another of vandalism of the car that was torched.

Hammarkullen is considered one of 55 no-go zones where police are not welcome and are often attacked. In December last year, police had to use a helicopter and special police forces to return order to the area after multiple cars were set on fire.

There are also several no-go areas in the Swedish capital of Stockholm that have seen both attacks on the police and riots in recent months. In the suburb of Rinkeby in February, cars were set ablaze, and shops were looted after the arrest of a local youth for drug offences.

Film taken by a police body camera emerged in March which showed how local youths, many who come from migrant backgrounds, showed no respect for police and told officers they had no authority in the area.

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

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