Swedish prosecutors in Gothenburg have charged a 17-year-old male over the fatal shooting of police officer Andreas Danman, who was killed during the summer in the “vulnerable” area of Biskopsgården.
The youth has been charged with murder, attempted murder, and aggravated crime with a weapon.
The prosecution does not believe the defendant intentionally targeted the 33-year-old police officer on the day of the killing, but fired two shots at three rival gang members, one of which struck officer Danman fatally.
Prosecutor Linda Wiking said during a press conference this week in comments reported by broadcaster SVT: “Our view is that it was not a planned action against the police department or against the specific police officer.”
The teen has been in police custody since July, days after the fatal shooting took place, and has previous convictions for violent crime. He has been the subject of concern from social services and from his school.
Witnesses say that the 17-year-old arrived in the area on an electric scooter and left the same way, disposing of both the scooter and the firearm linked to the shooting in a wooded area. Both were found along with a mask that contained the teen’s DNA. The trial begins on November 8th and is expected to last four days.
Police Officer Fatally Shot in Alleged ‘Execution’ in ‘Vulnerable’ Area of Swedish City https://t.co/tTiunv72ek
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 2, 2021
The shooting of officer Danman sent shockwaves through Swedish society and led Prime Minister Stefan Löfven to label the killing “an attack on our rule of law as well as on our entire democratic open society”.
Sweden’s growing problem with violent criminal gangs linked to fatal shootings has been a topic of discussion in recent weeks following the killing of rapper Einar, who was shot dead in the Hammarby suburb of Stockholm.
The killing of the rapper, who was only 19-year-old, is believed to be related to gang activity. Other rappers in Sweden, such as the migrant-background rapper Yasin, have also been known to have ties with organised criminal groups.
This week, Tobias Andersson, the spokesman for the populist Sweden Democrats (SD), suggested that public broadcasters should stop playing gangster rap songs on the radio, arguing that there was a relation between the music and criminal gangs.
“It is clear that limiting the influences of this type of music is a type of crime prevention measure, and I see it as vital,” he said and added: “I don’t think you can ban any music, but you can certainly have a discussion about the reasonableness of any part of the public sector proving a form of public service de facto contributing to the financing of these musicians.”
The Sweden Democrats have also called for an investigation into links between gangster rap and gang crime by the Swedish Crime Prevention Council (Brå), in order to see how the music affects gang recruitment.
“The government should call on the Swedish Crime Prevention Council to develop a knowledge base on gangster rap and its influences in a gangster environment, just as it did with white power music in the 1990s,” Andersson said.
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