Sweden Matches Record Yearly Fatal Shootings Weeks Before National Election

Just weeks before next month’s national election, Sweden has already matched its yearly record of fatal shootings.

The fatal shooting of a man in Haninge on Thursday marked the 47th fatal shooting death in Sweden this year, matching the record number of fatal shootings set in 2020. The number of gun deaths increased by 75 per cent compared to last year.

The vast majority of shootings, which have been listed in their entirety by the newspaper Expressen this week, have been connected to criminal gang activity, with both of the shootings taking place on Thursday in Haninge and Herlsinborg believed to be linked to criminal networks.

In the case of the Helsingborg shooting, police reportedly had no suspect in the killing of the man, said to be in his twenties.

“The patrol alerted an ambulance and performed CPR. But his life could not be saved,” local police area manager Karin Ottosson said. “Right now, we don’t have a suspect in the case,” he added, calling on witnesses to come forward.

Several people are said to have witnessed Thursday’s other fatal shooting in Haninge, and while several people were taken into custody and questioned, police told broadcaster SVT that no one has been formally arrested on murder charges.

The increasing trend of fatal shootings this year was observed as far back as April, when reports noted that in the first three months of the year the number of fatal shootings had tripled compared to the same period in 2021.

Swedish police gang crime expert Gunnar Appelgren later warned that the country faced a “terrible year” of fatal shootings.

“There are still very violent conflicts and spirals where revenge begets revenge. The very first crime of trying to shoot someone dead creates this spiral of violence,” he said.

Appelgren attributed some of the violence to the fact several gang leaders are currently in prison and that younger gang members who have replaced them are more willing to kill.

The number of fatal shootings comes as Swedes prepare to vote in the country’s national elections on September 11th. Polls suggest the ruling Social Democrats, who have been in power during the time fatal shootings have surged to record levels, may still be the largest single party in the legislature but prove unable to form Sweden’s next government.

While a recent poll from Novus puts the Social Democrats at 27.5 per cent, the broadly centre-right coalition of the populist Sweden Democrats, the Moderates, the Christian Democrats, and the Liberals polls over 50 per cent of the vote.

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