Sweden’s juvenile gang crime wave will take a decade to fix, senior minister says
The country’s gun crime rate is among the highest in the EU, and internationally linked gangs are now recruiting children.
Gun crime
Gun crime soars as Brussels becomes new drug trafficking hub
Gun crime in Brussels has been skyrocketing in recent months, with the violence spreading to neighbourhoods long considered safe and quiet. Behind it are drug gangs, with the Belgian capital becoming a hub for narcotics that enter the country through …
Warring drug gangs turn up the heat on Sweden’s government
A surge in gang violence during a brutal summer spells trouble for the ruling parties.
Fire and chaos after mass shooting at Russian concert hall – in pictures
Warning: this gallery contains images that some readers may find distressingEmergency crews responded to an attack at a venue near Moscow, where the roof collapsed amid a raging fire Continue reading…
Swedish police call for ban on civilians wearing bulletproof vests
Growing numbers buying protective gear as gangs recruit young people amid surge in violence across countryPolice in southern Sweden have called for a ban on civilians wearing bulletproof vests, which they say do not have a place outside war zones becau…
‘We have overcome it’: one month on from the mass shooting in Prague
Staff and students at Charles University take steps to rebuild after murder of 14 people last DecemberThey marched silently through the heart of Prague, coming to a halt beneath the stone arches of the imposing building. Linking arms, the crowd of more…
‘A bandage on a gunshot wound’: why Sweden is failing on gang violence
Rap star, youth worker and ex-gang member Sebastian Stakset knows firsthand what has gone wrong and, maybe, how to fix itSebastian Stakset has lost 38 friends to gang violence – many of whom, he points out from the window of his non-profit’s Stockholm …
‘She lifted our spirits’: Czechs remember victims of mass shooting as nation holds day of mourning
This Christmas most people’s thoughts are with the victims of the Prague gunmanJust one day before the Czech Republic was due to begin its Christmas celebrations, it held a national day of mourning for the victims of the worst mass shooting in its hist…
Czech Republic holds day of mourning for Prague shooting victims
Flags fly at half mast and minute’s silence observed two days after Charles University student killed 14 peopleBells rang out and flags flew at half mast on Saturday as the Czech Republic mourned the 14 victims of the country’s worst mass shooting.The …
Day of mourning declared after 14 killed in Prague university shooting
Twenty-five others wounded in attack at Charles University as local media name suspect as David Kozák The Czech Republic has declared Saturday a day of mourning after a 24-year-old student killed 14 people and wounded 25 others at his Prague university…
Bodycam footage shows Czech police searching Prague university for shooter – video
Czech police released a video on Friday of its operation as a shooter opened fire at a university in Prague, killing 14 people. Petr Matejcek, the director of the police regional headquarters in Prague, said the gunman killed himself on the balcony of…
Witnesses describe scenes of panic as Prague gunman roamed university
A student who says he barricaded his door just before the shooter tried the handle is among those describing the day when 14 people were shot dead in the Czech capitalStudent shoots 14 people dead at university in PragueWitnesses have described scenes …
Shock in Prague but shootings not unknown in Czech Republic
Police say gunman owned multiple firearms, as allowed by among the most permissive gun laws in the EUA fatal mass shooting in the cloistered environs of Prague might seem a bolt from the blue. In a city historically renowned for defenestrations but les…
How gang violence took hold of Sweden – in five charts
Scandinavian country has second highest gun crime death rate in Europe, with poverty and inequality among driving factorsSweden is in the grip of a rise in gang violence and shootings that has taken citizens and leaders by surprise. In the words of the…
Gangs of Stockholm: the rise of gun crime in Sweden – podcast
September has become the worst month for shooting deaths in Sweden since records began in 2016. Miranda Bryant and Sebastian Stakset, a former gang member, talk about what’s behind the shocking rise in violenceSweden is reeling from a surge in gang vio…
Sweden reports record number of monthly fatal shootings
September brings 11 deaths as country rocked by wave of violence, much of it suspected to be linked to split within criminal gang September has become the worst month for shooting deaths in Sweden since records began in 2016, after two people died in s…