- Malmö shootings
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Malmö shootings
Malmö Municipality in southern Sweden.Location Malmö, Sweden Target Swedish residents of immigrant origin Attack type Serial shootings Weapon(s) Large-caliber handgun Death(s) 1 Injured 13 Suspected perpetrator(s) 38-year-old male The Malmö shootings are a string of attacks by a suspected serial shooter in the southern Swedish city of Malmö. The shooter apparently targets people with dark skin and non-Swedish appearance. As of 23 October 2010, as many as 15 shootings were linked to the same suspect, whom the police had not yet been able to identify.[1][2] Comparisons have been made to the so-called "Laser man", who committed eleven shootings on people of immigrant origin in the Stockholm and Uppsala area in 1991–92, killing one.[2][3] The attacks, carried out with a large-caliber handgun, have been going on at least since December 2009. At the same time, the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old woman in October 2009 has also been linked to the same perpetrator.[4] The woman is the only ethnically Swedish victim,[5] though she was in the company of a friend of immigrant origin.[6] This murder has been linked to the other shootings through forensic evidence, showing that the weapon used was the same gun as the one used in several of the other attacks.[5]
The attacks have spread fear among the substantial immigrant population of Malmö. "Many people are frightened at the moment", says Tahmoures Yassami, the leader of the Iranian-Swedish Association in Malmö, "Especially families who have children."[7] The local police have warned against panic, pointing out that the risk for any individual of being shot is very low.[3] At the same time, they have cautioned people of ethnic minorities to avoid lonely places after dark, which is when the attacks have been taking place.[8]
Much like the similar shootings against immigrants in Stockholm after the 1991 general elections in Sweden, which saw the right-wing New Democracy enter Parliament, the Malmö shootings were preceded by the entrance of an anti-immigrant party into Parliament in the recent general election, the Sweden Democrats. Party leader Jimmie Åkesson condemned the shootings and referred to them as "very tragic". The far-right-wing party secretary of SD, Björn Söder, instead expressed his disgust with the medias reporting of the shootings in Malmö and also insited that the mass media devote more of their coverage to the "systematic violence of the far left against the Sweden Democrats", the alleged lack of balance in the reportings of attacks against his party colleagues – some of the more recent incidents have been questioned, as when David von Arnold Antoni, according to a Forensic pathologist's report, cut a swastika to his forehead and blamed it on immigrants.[9][10]
On 6 November, Swedish police announced that a 38-year-old male had been brought into custody on suspicion of being the shooter.[11] According to Malmö police he is now under suspicion of one murder and seven murder attempts.[12]
List of suspected shootings
The following shootings have been connected to the same suspect:[13][14][15][16]
- 10 October 2009 – 20-year-old Trez West Persson is shot and killed while sitting in a car in Västra Skrävlinge Kyrkoväg, near a mosque. Her 22-year-old friend, who is dark-skinned, is seriously injured.
- 23 Oktober 2009 – Several shots are fired against an apartment in Hyacintgatan.
- 31 December 2009 – Shots are fired against a mosque in Jägersrovägen. No-one is hit, but an imam is injured in the neck by broken glass.
- 25 January 2010 – A 17-year-old boy is shot in the chest and a 36-year-old man in the leg outside a store in Rasmusgatan. Police suspect the 17-year-old was the target, while the 36-year-old was shot by accident.
- 12 March 2010 – Shots are fired against a house in Hårds väg. The target is probably the 22-year-old who escaped the attack on 10 October.
- 16 March 2010 – A 21-year-old and a 22-year-old are attacked at close range while sitting in a car in Professorgatan. The 21-year-old is hit several times, while the 21-year-old escapes unscathed.
- 19 June 2010 – Three African men are shot at while exiting a taxi in Regementsgatan. One is hit, but receives only a burn wound.
- 26 June 2010 – A 30-year-old man is shot through the window of a gym in Vendelfridsgatan. He is hit twice in the back.
- 27 June 2010 – Only 40 minutes after the previous shooting, a 29-year-old is shot in the shoulder while sitting in a car in Munkhättegatan.
- 24 August 2010 – A fast food restaurant in Köpenhamnsvägen is shot at. The bullet goes straight through the building and hits a car at the other side, but no-one is hit. The owner claims to have seen a laser light immediately before the shot was fired.
- 25 September 2010 – A 31-year-old man receives a flesh wound to the head when he is shot outside of the university hospital.
- 10 October 2010 – A 47-year-old man is shot in the stomach at the bus stop by the intersection of Lönngatan and Norra Grängesbergsgatan. The bullet goes through his body, but the injuries are not serious.
- 19 October 2010 – In an incident similar to the one of 10 October, a 28-year-old man is shot in the back at close range while waiting for the bus by Eriksfältgatan. The bullet pierces the victim's lung, leaving serious damage.
- 21 October 2010 – A 16-year-old boy is fired at by Hermodalstorget, but he is not hit.
- 21 October 2010 – On the same night, two women are shot through a window in Kroksbäck.
References
- ^ Nyberg, Per (23 October 2010). "Swedish police hunt serial shooter". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/23/sweden.serial.shooter/?hpt=Sbin. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ a b "Swedish police link 'racist' shootings to lone gunman". BBC News. 22 October 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11606019. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ a b "Swedish police hunt for gunmen targeting immigrants". The Daily Telegraph. 22 October 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/sweden/8082249/Swedish-police-hunt-for-gunmen-targeting-immigrants.html. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ "Swedish city on edge in shooting spree". MSNBC. 22 October 2010. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39798567/ns/world_news-europe/. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ a b Johansen, Anders Holth (24 October 2010). "Hun var den nye lasermannens første offer" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/10/24/nyheter/utenriks/sverige/drap/13977867/. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ Ohlsson, Per-Ola (24 October 2010). "Xhafer, 22, var med när Trez sköts ihjäl" (in Swedish). Expressen. http://kvp.expressen.se/nyheter/1.2186735/xhafer-22-var-med-nar-trez-skots-ihjal. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ Adetunji, Jo (22 October 2010). "Swedish police hunt gunman targeting immigrants". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/22/swedish-police-hunt-gunman. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ "Migrants warned as race-hate killer brings fear to Sweden". Herald Sun. 22 October 2010. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad-application/migrants-warned-as-race-hate-killer-brings-fear-to-sweden/story-fn6s850w-1225942475757. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ Sd vill sluta prata laserman
- ^ Ristade in hakkorset på sig själv
- ^ "Swedish police arrest man for Malmo shootings". The Associated Press. Google. 7 November 2010. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i0oAPU6CiEAeHr7YR13qur-DbDIQ?docId=6420197ff5034654ad685cff96eb6809. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
- ^ Högström, Erik. "Åklagaren: Vi har gjort fynd som stärker misstanken". Expressen. http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/1.2204347/aklagaren-vi-har-gjort-fynd-som-starker-misstanken. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
- ^ Engan, Øyvind. "Listen som ryster Malmø – VG Nett om Sverige" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/artikkel.php?artid=10025612. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ "Skottdramer i Malmö 2010 – Google Maps" (in Swedish). Sydsvenska Dagbladet. http://maps.google.com/maps/mms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=112715269973153697220.00048ac98e7428bc3e897. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ Johansen, Anders Holth (23 October 2010). "Har jaktet på «den nye lasermannen» i flere måneder" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/10/23/nyheter/utenriks/sverige/malm/13969739/. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ Langset, Kristine Grue (25 October 2010). "Skåne-politiet trapper opp etterforskningen – Nyheter – Innenriks – Aftenposten.no" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article3873192.ece. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
External links
- Skjutningarna i Malmö, site by the Swedish Police Service (in Swedish).
- Map of recent shootings in Malmö, created by Sydsvenska Dagbladet (in Swedish).
Categories:- Malmö
- Crime in Sweden
- 2010 crimes
- 2010 in Sweden
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