A 16 year old has been detained on suspicion of murdering three people following a deadly shooting at a hair salon in the city of Uppsala, Sweden’s Prosecution Authority confirmed on Wednesday.
The attack, which unfolded late Tuesday afternoon, sent shockwaves through the university city, located 45 miles north of Stockholm. According to police, the shooting appears to have been an isolated incident and is not believed to be connected to the city’s Valborg celebrations, the traditional bonfire festival welcoming spring, set to take place Wednesday evening.
Police responded to several emergency calls reporting loud bangs shortly after 5 p.m. Upon arrival, officers discovered three individuals with gunshot wounds. All were declared dead at the scene.
“Quite soon we encountered three people who appeared to have been shot. They did not need to be taken to hospital,” Magnus Jansson Klarin, a spokesperson for Uppsala police, told the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper.
While authorities are keeping details close to the vest, Swedish media outlets have reported that at least one of the victims had ties to organized gang crime. However, police have not confirmed these reports, emphasizing that the investigation remains ongoing.
The shooting has further fueled national concern over escalating gang violence, particularly the increasing number of children being drawn into deadly conflicts. In recent years, Sweden has grappled with a surge in shootings and bombings linked to rival gang activity, a crisis that has dominated political discourse and prompted government intervention.
Police have launched an urgent appeal for public assistance after witnesses reported seeing a masked individual fleeing the crime scene on an electric scooter.
Condemning the killings, Sweden’s Minister of Justice, Gunnar Strömmer, described the attack as a “brutal act of violence,” underscoring the growing sense of alarm over the country’s security challenges.
In response to rising violence, the Swedish government announced plans earlier this year to tighten firearms legislation. The move follows the country’s worst mass shooting, which occurred in February when a gunman killed 10 people at an education center in Örebro before turning the weapon on himself. Investigators are still working to determine his motive.
The Uppsala tragedy marks yet another grim chapter in Sweden’s ongoing battle against gang related violence, a battle now claiming lives even younger than before.
