Hundreds of flowers, candles and condolences decorate the stone slabs outside the Farsta centrum metro station. People of all ages visit the memorial site to honor the memory of Elias, 15, who was killed when two suspects in their 20s opened fire with automatic weapons on Saturday.
A man in his 40s was also killed and two more people were injured in the mass shooting.
– He was going to a funfair with his friends. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, says a friend of Elias.
Happy and caring
Voices describing Elias are unanimous. Family, friends and school staff all say he was a happy, caring and talented boy.
At the same time, pictures abound on social media showing how Elias poses with, among other things, money, something that has created speculation about whether he was involved in crime.
The family already denied on Sunday all alleged links to crime, a denial that is backed up by both friends and municipal officials that SVT spoke to on Tuesday.
– He liked hip-hop and was drawn to that subculture, but he was a really nice guy. Always smiling and easy to deal with. I always got a hug when I met him, says a municipal employee.
Known person in the gang environment
A close person says that Elias did not hang out in criminal circles, but that he may have known people with such a connection.
– A few weeks ago I found out that Elias had started hanging out with a guy who has connections to the gang environment. I tried to find out more about this person but Elias didn’t want to tell me much.
Several informants tell SVT that they do not believe that Elias was the actual target in the mass shooting.
The police describe that they have a good picture of the sequence of events but that the motive is “murky”. A preliminary investigation is underway and police would not comment further citing confidentiality.