Share

Swedish gunmen riding scooters open fire on car

Gothenburg - Four men were injured, one critically, late on Sunday in the centre of Sweden's southern city of Malmo, in what police said appeared to be a targeted attack by gunmen riding scooters.

The shooting broke out shortly before 19:00 (17:00 GMT) in a street in the southern city's Fosie district. Police in the area evacuated one of the wounded to the city hospital.

"The three other injured were able to make their own way to hospital," the police said in a statement.

According to witnesses interviewed by the SydSvenskan newspaper, local residents were able to take the injured to hospital in their cars before emergency services arrived.

"The attackers were able to flee on scooters. An inquiry has been opened for attempted murder. No suspect has been apprehended," the police statement said.

Car chase

Multiple eye witnesses told Swedish media that there had been a car chase, with the four victims in one vehicle and two scooters pursuing them.

The car ended up ramming into a tree before multiple individuals on the scooters, who all had their faces covered, opened fire on the vehicle, shooting off some twenty rounds, local media reported.

"They were firing automatic weapons," one eye witness said.

One of the victims was hit in the head and remains in critical condition.

While Sweden is generally a peaceful, safe country with low crime rates, police have had difficulty addressing violence in poorer neighbourhoods in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo.

In recent years, there have been grenade attacks, shootings and incidents of car arson.

At the end of August, an 8-year-old child was killed when a grenade was thrown into the apartment where he was sleeping.

One of the people registered at the address was a person who had been convicted for murder in a settling of scores between members of the Somali community in Gothenburg, police said at the time.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
66% - 523 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
34% - 275 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
19.04
-0.1%
Rand - Pound
23.80
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.41
-0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.42
-0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
931.00
+0.6%
Palladium
995.00
+0.5%
Gold
2,335.03
+0.1%
Silver
27.52
+0.3%
Brent Crude
89.01
+1.1%
Top 40
68,437
0.0%
All Share
74,329
0.0%
Resource 10
62,119
0.0%
Industrial 25
102,531
0.0%
Financial 15
15,802
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE