17-year-old arrested after police officer was shot dead in Sweden

Stockholm, Sweden:

Swedish prosecutors said on Friday that a 17-year-old boy was arrested for the shooting death of a police officer, the first such death in the country in 14 years.

The incident caused waves across the country, with Prime Minister Stefan Lofven calling it an attack “on our entire open democratic society”.

“He’s a young man, a 17-year-old,” prosecutor Ulrika Aberg told a press conference, adding that the boy was suspected of murder and attempted murder.

The officer was shot dead in Gothenburg on Wednesday evening while patrolling.

Initial reports said the policeman, who was in his 30s, was talking to residents of the Biskopsgarden area when he was suddenly shot.

Aberg confirmed that the young man was a resident of the area.

Christer Fuxborg, spokesperson for Gothenburg police, told AFP on Friday that it was still not known what the motive for the shooting was and whether the officer was the intended target, adding that “the perpetrator is may not have understood, or realized it was a police officer. “

According to Fuxborg, the officer was tasked with working with the community and although these officers wear police badges on their clothing, they do not always wear the traditional police uniform.

According to the GT newspaper, the suspect had previously been charged with attempted murder of another person who was also allegedly present at the scene of the shooting.

Police fatalities by shootings are rare in Sweden.

The last fatal shooting took place 14 years ago, but the country has struggled to contain an increase in deadly gang-related violence.

A report compiled by the Swedish National Crime Prevention Council released in May found that Sweden had the highest number of deadly shootings per capita in Europe.

In 2020, there were more than 360 incidents involving firearms in Sweden, with 47 dead and 117 injured, a record high according to police.

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