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The shooting death in Skärholmen hits the area hard.
On Thursday morning, the district administration sat in a crisis meeting.
– My heart hurts, but unfortunately I felt that it would derail, says Dimitris Constantinou, who runs the association Team big brother.
On Thursday morning, a bouquet of flowers lies at the mouth of the underpass in the center of Skärmholmen. A 39-year-old man was shot to death there on Wednesday evening.
The social worker Dimitris Constantinou, 46, was one of those who were on the scene in Skärholmen shortly after the shooting.
– We met parents who cried and heard that children were picked up because you don’t dare to let them go outside by themselves, he says.
“How many more more will have to die?”
Dimitris himself grew up in Skärholmen and since 2018 has run Team Storebror, a non-profit association that works for increased security in suburbs and socio-economically vulnerable areas.
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full screen Dimitris Constantinou started the non-profit association Team Storebror in 2018 together with childhood friend Jimmie Ström. Photo: Private
– I’m tired of people whining and not coming up with solutions. Problems exist for a reason and we want to untie the knots. Gang crime is a problem that has been allowed to continue for several decades, he says and continues:
– How many more must die before we act? We should have done something already 20 years ago. Today, 13-year-olds die and people shrug their shoulders.
The district administration in crisis meeting
The day after the shooting, Skärholmen’s district administration gathered for a crisis management meeting.
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full screen Dimitris Constantinou wants to get more Skärholmen residents to get involved against gang violence. Photo: Private
– It is terrible. Now, together with others, we need to show that you must not behave in this way, says district director Lisa Kinnari shortly after the meeting.
The Skärholmen district council area includes the districts of Bredäng, Sätra, Vårberg and Skärholmen. According to Kinnari, the business has long worked to create security, but above all in Sätra.
– We have not seen that the situation in Skärholmen has worsened. However, we have intensified the work in Sätra based on information that came from the police, she says and continues:
– But we have field workers who are out every evening and now we will have more people moving in the area. We also get help from other parts of the city to be able to meet people. Many good adults are needed in the area at the same time.
Several shootings in a short time
Yesterday’s shooting is one of several in a short period of time in the Skärholmen district.
On March 1, a man in his 20s was shot to death in a residential area. On March 13, a 25-year-old man was shot, right next to a preschool that was allowed to accommodate the children and staff.
According to Lisa Kinnari, the district administration has known that there is unrest between the gangs that move in the area.
– But we were not prepared for this particular development in the last month, she says.
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full screen The city administration held a crisis management meeting on Thursday regarding the fatal shooting. Photo: Carolina Byrmo
“I felt it was going to derail”
Dimitris Constantinou at Team Big Brother is not surprised.
– It has long been noisy in Skärholmen and there is a reason why I chose to focus on that particular area. Skärholmen has not been prioritized and more positive role models are needed in society, he says.
– My heart hurts, but unfortunately I felt that it would derail.