Children are used as "soldiers" in gang wars

With automatic weapons, the perpetrators opened fire and fired over 25 shots through the apartment door in Gubbängen in Stockholm.

The police suspect two boys, aged 14 and 15, of the crime, which is part of the wave of violence that has hit the capital since the Christmas holiday.

Both were on the run from HVB homes when they were arrested last week.

- Before it was perhaps an honorable mission to be allowed to carry out a murder, now it is more of a piece of shit.

Then you use those who are the lowest in rank, says Anna Rise, head of the police's intelligence unit in the Stockholm region.

Forced into gangs

Children and young people being recruited by criminal gangs have become more common, according to the police.

They become friends with the gang members, run small errands, and then it escalates.

- When the children want to withdraw, that possibility no longer exists.

We have cases where children have been forced into networks.

Where network criminals have sought out families and said that one of your children should belong to us, says Anna Rise.

Stockholm, January 8, 2018: A then 16-year-old boy shoots a man dead in a pizzeria in Rinkeby.

He is later sentenced to closed youth care.

Photo: The police

In the past, it was more often about keeping a watch or storing drugs, now the role has changed and the children have been described as "soldiers" in the gang war.

•

A man is shot dead and a woman is seriously injured at the Emporia shopping center in Malmö.

A 15-year-old boy, who was on the run from an LVU custody, was arrested and is now in custody on suspicion of the shooting.

•

A masked perpetrator shoots a 55-year-old man to death inside a gym in Vasastan in Stockholm.

A 16-year-old boy, who is linked to a criminal network by the police, was arrested and is still in custody on suspicion of the murder.

•

A man in his 20s is shot dead in Norsborg after being tricked into a trap.

Among other things, the police direct their suspicions against a then 15-year-old boy who is now in custody on suspicion of murder.

1,500 in the tail

Exactly how many children and minors there are within the gang milieu in Stockholm is unclear.

But the assessment is that there are around 1,500 gang criminals and an equal number in the networks around them.

- Our assessment is that the tail is about the same size and then it is largely young, says Anna Rise.