Södertälje has been affected by several acts of violence in July. During Monday evening, the alarm went off again, shots had been fired in the Hovsjö district.
– We can confirm that there has been a shooting and that a person has been injured in connection with this, says police spokesperson Robert Sennerdal.
The person’s injuries are unclear and several arrests have been made in connection with the crime scene.
Murder, shootings and grenade attack in July
The shooting was not the first during the summer. At the beginning of July, a man in his 20s was shot to death in the Blombacka district in Södertälje. According to information to TV4 Nyheterna, the murder was connected to the gang environment within Södertälje and the ongoing conflict between rival networks.
After the murder, a security zone, also called a visitation zone, was introduced in the areas of Västra Blombacka and parts of Geneta, which ended on Friday. During the weekend, there were two shootings aimed at residential buildings.
On Sunday, the next act of violence occurred – someone threw a hand grenade into a shop in Geneta and a woman suffered shrapnel injuries.
– On the surface, it may look like it is a chain of different events, but that is not always the case. It may very well be that all the different events are connected to each other, but it is far too early to say, says Max Åkervall, deputy police area chief in Stockholm South.
The escalation part of far-reaching conflict
According to information to SVT Nyheter Södertälje, there is a connection between the grenade attack on the store and one of the weekend’s shootings.
– Basically, the increased escalation in the conflict environment goes back to autumn 2022, where several of the conflicts are still ongoing, says Max Åkervall.
During the fall of 2022, Södertälje was hit by several acts of violence linked to the bloody conflict between groups from different neighborhoods.
– Several of the conflicts are still ongoing. Some of the gang constellations have split up but it is still ongoing. There are several different parallel events in different geographical areas, says Max Åkervall.
The recent crimes have occurred shortly after the police chose not to extend the security zone in the areas of Blombacka and Geneta.
– We made an assessment when we tried to introduce a safety zone to achieve success after the murder that was with the shooting. What we see now is that the situation is considerably more complicated than that, which is why we evaluate and assess every day which measures we should take, says Max Åkervall.
Several young people deprived of their liberty
Two 18-year-old men were arrested last week after the murder. A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the explosion in the store. Another 17-year-old has been arrested in a neighboring case, the police do not want to comment on which, citing the sensitive nature of the case.
After the shooting on Tuesday evening, several people were arrested in connection with the crime scene.
– Unfortunately, we see that many of the perpetrators are young, young teenagers, often with a vague or perhaps complete lack of connection to the person or persons they expose to the crimes. It is very cynical where there are other people behind the scenes and controlling this in digital chats, says Max Åkervall.