Three people were killed and three others injured in a shooting incident linked to gang clashes in the Swedish city of Malm., Police said, amid growing concern about the rise in violent crime in the Scandinavian country.
Six men between the ages of 19 and 31 were shot in an internet café in Malm χ last night, just 100 meters from a regional police station near the city center.
"The men who were shot are believed to be members of a gang involved in organized crime in Malm.," City police chief Stephen Sindeus told a news conference.
He said there were three to four gang-related disputes in Malm. And that the victims belonged to one of the gangs involved.
The homicide rate in Sweden has not risen in recent years, but shootings and gang-related crimes are on the rise. Gang violence has become a central issue in the September election campaign, with the populist, far-right Swedish Democrats linking rising immigration and low integration of new arrivals to escalating armed violence.
According to a recent report by the European Union, among men aged 15 to 19 in the 13 countries surveyed, Sweden has the highest rate of armed violence left behind.
Police said they had not arrested any suspects in yesterday's shooting and called on witnesses to testify to clarify the circumstances of the violent incident.