A man in his 20s died in connection with a shooting in Skarpnäck in southern Stockholm on Sunday evening.
The incident thus became the 20th confirmed case of the deadly gun violence in Sweden so far this year, police national statistics show.
- If you look at the start this year, there are more deaths but about as many shootings as there were in 2020. It is a very high level we are at right now, says Gunnar Appelgren, crime commissioner and gang expert at the Police Authority.
"Revenge on revenge"
He says the shootings are often rooted in revenge conflicts that develop into deadly spirals of violence.
The reasons can range from drug dealing and market rivalry to personal abuse of girlfriends or families.
- There are still very violent conflicts and spirals where revenge goes on revenge.
The very first crime of trying to shoot someone to death creates this spiral of violence, he says.
"Younger boys continue to be performers"
According to Appelgren, the fact that several leading figures in the organized criminal environment in Sweden have been prosecuted has also created a vacuum of power where the balance of terror has in some places been put out of play.
- It is difficult to overcome these conflicts.
They lie so deep that you feel offended.
Even though a lot of people have been prosecuted, younger boys continue to be perpetrators of these murders or attempted murders with firearms, says Gunnar Appelgren.
There are also some geographical differences regarding the deadly gun violence, where Region South and Malmö have had a positive development.
- It is shot and murdered most in Stockholm, purely statistically.
Since then, the Linköping area has come up this year with very serious violence.
How do you see the coming time regarding the deadly gun violence?
- If we look statistically at the last five years, there will be more shootings in the next four to five months than in January-April.
If that trend is correct, we have a terrible year ahead of us.