The Swedish city of Lund has seen at least 55 arson attacks so far in 2020, with cars and several buildings being set ablaze including schools.
In the last several months, at least three schools in the city have been set on fire, with the latest taking place on Tuesday night when a fire was started at the Mårtenskolan elementary school. The blaze damaged the facade but was put out after an alarm had been triggered. A security guard attempted to extinguish if before emergency services arrived.
The fire comes after an arson attack on a preschool in May resulting in it being totally burnt down. Another school was set on fire in June, but the damage was not extensive as the fire was caught soon after it was started, Swedish newspaper Expressen reports.
Ewa-Gun Westford, a press spokeswoman for Lund’s police, said officials were looking into the series of arson attacks and left the possibility open that they may be related.
Sweden: Teen Gets Away with Probation After Torching 21 Vehicles in One Night https://t.co/EMr4UP2PhV
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 27, 2020
“We look at each fire that arises individually, just like any other crime. But for quite a long time, there have been a number of fires that have been set in Lund. So we’re also looking at if there could be a connection,” Ms Westford said.
So far, according to Westford, police have not identified any suspects in the arson attacks. The spokeswoman admitted that the while police were actively investigating the incidents, the work was difficult.
Even when Swedish authorities catch arsonists, not all receive harsh punishments. Such was the case with a teen in the city of Gävle. He was sentenced to just probation after being found guilty of torching 21 cars in a single night in February.
Car fires have been regularly seen in many of Sweden’s so-called “vulnerable areas” or no-go zones, with one of the largest incidents taking place in Gothenburg in 2018 that saw over 100 cars burnt in a single day.
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