Sweden is the only country in Europe where gun violence is increasing. Now new statistics produced by the police for TV4 Nyheterna show that more and more outsiders are affected by shootings and explosions. The figure has risen from one person in 2012 to 14 people in 2022.
– They just shot straight in, my son was in the wrong place at the wrong time, says Libaan Warsame, who lost his son in 2020.
Since 2020, at least one person who was not the intended target has been shot per month, and this year alone eight people have been hit.
Joakim Sturup is a criminologist and researcher at the police. On behalf of TV4 Nyheternas, he has mapped how many outsiders were affected by shootings and explosions in Sweden between 2012 and April 30, 2023.
The statistics show that there are a total of 88 people. 23 people have died and 65 people have been injured. It is a development that Joakim Sturup describes as significantly worse than what he previously feared.
– The majority are people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They therefore have no connection to the incident. It is a serious development, says Joakim Sturup.
Shoot straight into a crowd
19-year-old Hanad Warsame is one of the innocent victims of gun violence. On the evening of December 29, 2020, he went to the Tensta center to buy food. But Hanad never came home again.
– According to the police, there was no target, they just shot straight in and my son was in the wrong place at the wrong time, says the father Libaan Warsame when TV4 Nyheterna meets him in the Tensta center.
In the square, two masked men had opened fire, and fired about 30 shots into a crowd. Several were injured and Hanad died.
The murder of Hanad Warsame is one of the unsolved misfires. Every day, father Libaan passes the place where his son died.
– He was lying in this place in front of this entrance, says Libaan Warsame and points to the ground.
Several factors are behind it
According to Joakim Sturup, there are a number of factors that mean that more and more outsiders are affected. Among other things, more and more shootings and explosions are taking place during the day and in public places. The perpetrators are also getting younger and have poor weapon habits.
Often they don’t even know the intended victim.
– You may have received an image when you received the assignment of what this person looks like, and then it is difficult to get the right person.
According to Joakim Sturup, third parties, i.e. passers-by or people who happen to be at the scene but have no connection to the incident – have become a legitimate target.
– But we also see relatives. They make up about ten percent of this group that has been affected.
“How many more will be affected?”
For all those who have lost relatives unrelated to gang violence, the pain is enormous. That’s what Libaan Warsame, who started the association “Stop the shootings”, says. He and about 30 other parents in the association are tired of nothing happening.
– How many more children must be murdered before something is done? How many lives will be lost before someone reacts, he says.