Nearly half of all shootings take place outside the big cities.

In Eskilstuna, which has been hit hard by the gun violence, the police see how more and more young people are being drawn into the violence.

Nearly half of all shootings take place outside the big cities.

In Eskilstuna, there are a total of 16 so far this year, five of them on one and the same street in the district Årby north of central Eskilstuna.

The police link the events to an ongoing conflict between two different criminal groups. 

- In this place, it is one of the groups that hangs, it is where they meet, socialize, it is where you commit crime.

It is a so-called drug scene, which means that when the other group took the opportunity, they have been to this place and there have been shootings, says Christoffer Bohman, head of the investigation section at Sörmland Police, who previously worked in Järva and Sollentuna.

Young people keep weapons

It is crowded in the drug market, which creates conflicts, according to him.

At the same time, there are many young people who live in exclusion and seek belonging.

Which means that more and more young people are being drawn into the violence in the city, according to the police.

For example, they may store or transport weapons. 

- It is ten-year-olds and eleven-year-olds who occur and not only on one occasion but it is a picture that emerges.

We also have fourteen, fifteen and sixteen year olds who are hardened criminals.  

The police survey shows that around 1,200 network criminals in Sweden are under 18 years of age.

Around 170 of them are under 15. But the numbers are probably higher than that. 

- We're talking about the really young, it's a group that we have pretty poor control over.

Their journey of radicalization is very short, from the time they let go of their normal lives until they are ready for firearms, it can be extremely short.

We have a number of incidents where people have gone from not actually committing so many crimes to shooting, says Christoffer Bohman. 

- We have a society that does not catch the young and it is somewhere that the long-term plan must lie.

We almost have to reform our measures to prevent them from entering this path, even when they make the wrong steps that we can be there super-early. 

Prompt action is required

The window to stop the process is short, and it requires quick action and close cooperation with other authorities.  

- It also requires that we slaughter some sacred cows, says Christoffer Bohman and takes as an example the secrecy between the authorities.  

- We have long protected integrity very highly, but it may be something we need to reconsider.