On Tuesday of this week, Swedish media blames an almost deadly building explosion on the acts of gang rivals. According to sources, an apartment building in the Swedish city of Gothenburg was set on fire, causing around 20 people injured and several hundred evacuated by jumping out of a window.
Lars Hulten lived in the apartment building, told the daily newspaper Goteborgs-Tidningen, “It was probably the loudest thing I heard. The whole apartment vibrated. The bed vibrated…fell. It was very dramatic and a very fast course of fire and smoke,” he said.
At the time of the explosion, fire crews spent hours trying to put out the blaze. Some members of the media and law enforcement are raising the question of gang involvement. Thomas Fuxborg, a police spokesman, told TV4 station they might have been searching for a resident inside the building. “We suspect someone might have placed something that has exploded,” Fuxborg said.
A burning building hasn’t been new in the Swedish community. In 2019, the southern city of Linkoping witnessed two apartment buildings set on fire, resulting in 35 people being injured and 100 people requiring medical treatment. In that incident, law enforcement said they had reason to believe gangs were involved. According to statistics, gangs have been on the rise in the Scandinavian nation. Sweden was the only European country where fatal shootings have risen significantly since 2000, primarily because of violent gangs.
A 17-year-old boy shot and killed a police officer in Gothenburg in June, and the boy was believed to have ties to gang membership.
Regarding the Tuesday explosion, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven attempted to put the public’s fears to rest by telling media.
“We do not want to speculate on what this is. It is too early to draw conclusions. We do not know what the motive is. We know nothing,” Lofven said. “We all want to know more. We want to understand what happened and what was the cause of this explosion, but it’s clear that crime cannot be ruled out,” Home Affairs Minister Mikael Damberg added at the same press conference with Lofven.
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