Facts: Three dead in twelve hours
Eleven people have been shot dead in September, which is the deadliest month for gun violence in Sweden in nearly four years.
During twelve hours between Wednesday and Thursday, three people were killed in acts of violence in Stockholm and Uppsala.
At 18:43 last Wednesday, the police received an alarm about a shooting in Fruängen in southern Stockholm. A young man had been shot at Mälarhöjden’s sports field, where several children and young people were training. The man was treated at the scene, but his life could not be saved.
Shortly before midnight, the police were called to another shooting in Jordbro, south of Stockholm. Two people with gunshot wounds were found at the scene. One was so seriously injured that he later died. The other man was taken to hospital and has non-life threatening injuries.
A few hours later, at 3.45 on Thursday morning, the police received an alarm about an explosion in a residential area in Fullerö by Storvreta outside Uppsala. A 25-year-old woman was killed in connection with the incident. Two houses were completely destroyed in the explosion, which was so powerful that three adjacent houses were also damaged.
Last night, two people were killed after separate shootings. The 18-year-old who was shot on a sports field in Fruängen was a boy who attended a high school in the Stockholm area.
“It’s deeply tragic,” says Johan Abrahamsson, head of school at Stadsmissionen’s school foundation, which owns the school.
The boy is not the first from the school to die due to gang crime. Last semester, a former student, a girl who left the school six months earlier, died in a fire that can also be traced to the gang violence.
— Right now, there are many people who react with dismay and concern about the development of society.
Called and emailed
Several parents have called and emailed the high school principal because they are concerned about the safety of their children. But the police assess that there is no increased risk or threat to the school.
Neither of the two acts of violence took place on the school’s premises or near the school.
When management learned late on Wednesday evening that the shot boy was a student at the school, all employees were contacted. And in the early hours of Thursday morning, before the students started pouring in, management held an informational meeting with staff and assembled the school’s crisis team.
Then classes were canceled during the day, but the school was kept open to be able to talk to the students about what happened. School psychologists, counselors and school nurses are all trained to care for children in crisis. In addition, the school has a team of social pedagogues who meet the students daily.
Johan Abrahamsson, head of school at Stadsmissionen’s school foundation.
Even last semester, there was the possibility of support calls for those who felt bad after the former student had died. For those who mourned the girl, there was a room where they could leave their condolences. Such a room was also arranged today.
Traumatic events
TT: How does it affect the students’ ability to absorb the teaching in the future when students and for this reason students die?
— Whether it’s a concern that there has been a shooting or if you carry memories of other traumatic events, it can have an impact on young people’s ability to concentrate in school. But if you give space and support, you can deal with that problem, so that it is possible to return and complete your studies in the best way, says Johan Abrahamsson.