A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder in Sweden, the authorities said on Wednesday, after three people were fatally shot the day before, in the latest blow to a country grappling with high levels of gun violence compared to its European peers.
The three victims were found in a hair salon in the city of Uppsala, about 43 miles from Stockholm, the capital. They were between 15 and 20 years old, according to the police, but have not been publicly identified.
The motive was unclear, but the police, which said they responded to reports of “loud bangs” shortly after 5 p.m. on Tuesday, said they were investigating if the shooting had been gang-related.
“We can’t say that it has a clear connection to any gang conflict at the moment, but it’s one of the ideas that we are working particularly intensively on,” Erik Akerlund, head of the Uppsala police and of the special incident command, said at a news conference on Wednesday morning.
The teenage suspect, who was not identified, had recently run away from a group home for children, Magnus Berggren, Uppsala’s deputy chief prosecutor, said during a news conference later on Wednesday.
Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, condemned the shooting as “a terrible act” and lamented that “brutal and ruthless violence is once again shaking our country.”
Despite its reputation for a high standard of living, Sweden has been plagued by one of the higher rates of gun violence in the European Union, and violent crime has been on the rise in recent years. The country experienced its worst mass shooting in February, when a man open fired on an adult education center, killing 10 people.
Factors like the suspect’s age indicate that the shooting may be connected to gangs, said Diamant Salihu, an investigative journalist for the Swedish public service broadcaster, SVT, and the author of two books about gang violence and criminal networks in Sweden.
“During the past decade, we have seen an escalation of deadly shootings,” Mr. Salihu said. “More recently, the change is that there are very many young shooters who do it for payment and status,” he added.
The shooting occurred ahead of the Walpurgis celebrations, where Swedes celebrate the beginning of spring with public bonfires. The police said there was no current danger to the public.
Eve Sampson is a reporter covering international news and a member of the 2024-25 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
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