Wave of shootings baffle Swedish police
By | Associated Press – Thu, Jan 5, 2012On Thursday dozens of police took to the streets in the southern Swedish city of 250,000 to try calm the public and to collect tips about the attacks, which come only a year after a suspected serial shooter was arrested there.
"We've never experienced anything like this before. It's exceptional that there have been so many murders in such a short period of time," police spokesman Lars-Hakan Lindholm said. "People are worried of course and want to talk about it."
In less than six weeks, five people have been shot dead in execution-style killings, prompting local police to ask for back-up from national investigators and for Malmo Mayor Ilmar Reepalu to call on the country's justice minister to implement tougher gun laws.
Sweden's gun control laws are fairly strict. Penalties for possessing illegal arms typically involve fines or up to one year in prison, but serious breaches of the law can result in a four-year sentence.
Lindholm said that due to the fast escalating death-toll police presence has now been bumped up by about 30 extra officers in the city on weekdays and by around 40 on the weekends. Malmo is an eclectic city, where about 40 percent of its residents are first- or second-generation immigrants.
The latest murder occurred on Tuesday, when a man in his late 40's was shot dead in broad daylight on an open street near his Malmo home.
Two days earlier, a 15-year-old boy was killed in the midst of the Malmo New Year celebrations.
"They're almost like executions," Lindholm said of the killings, but noted that there are still no suspects in the slayings and police remain baffled to what the motives might be.
The killings have upset many Malmo inhabitants who, just last year, saw the end of a near seven-year shooting terror by a lone gunman that targeted immigrants.
That suspect, 39-year old Peter Mangs, is currently facing charges for allegedly killing three people and attempting to murder another 13 victims in a series of sniper-like attacks.
Police say they see few links between Mangs and the latest shootings however, having largely ruled out that they're dealing with a copycat.
Instead, they indicate the incidents could possibly be gang-related, as the victims seem to have been carefully picked out.
Sweden has some of the strictest gun laws in Europe: (but)
Swedish Gangsters Need Guns For Personal Protection
It’s tough being a gangster in Sweden. You’re in Europe, so gun control laws are strict. Then again, as most sentient non-MAIG members realize, criminals are rarely concerned with gun laws. But like anywhere else, being a gangster carries with it some inherent risks. You usually live and operate in dodgy areas and you’re probably selling drugs or engaging in other kinds of business that tend to result in violence breaking out more often than is experienced by, say, your average hamburger flipper or store clerk. So you can see why a gangster – any gangster – would want to pack some heat for protection. Increasingly, Swedish judges are understanding that, too…
As recently reported by Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan, judges seem to be making allowances for gang members in weapons cases and handing out light sentences. As reported by dailycaller.com,
Prosecutor Jan Pernvi told the Swedish newspaper The Local that in one 2009 case, a minimal sentence was handed down to a gang member who was arrested with a fully automatic pistol in his belt. The judge, he said, ruled that such a criminal ”can be especially vulnerable when living in a dangerous environment, and therefore have personal reasons to be armed.”
Pernvi was baffled. “So the court perceived it as mitigating circumstances that he was a professional criminal, even if it wasn’t written in the sentence,” he said.
Now, if you’re a regular Swedish Sven Q. Citizen taxpayer, you have to jump through plenty of hoops to get yourself a handgun.
Sweden’s gun control laws require citizens to be active participants in competition shooting for six months before they can apply for a license to own a handgun. Minor criminal convictions, including for public drunkenness can result in the cancellation of a license and the confiscation of the offender’s guns.
Then again, Sven Q. probably doesn’t reside in a tough neighborhood and doesn’t live in fear for his life as much as gang members do. So it’s OK to throw the book at him if he runs afoul of the law. But gangsters are getting sentences of just a few months when they’re caught carrying full-auto weapons. Because they need them.
Meanwhile, the crime rate seems to be increasing for some reason, And like night follows day, Sweden’s legislators are looking to further tighten gun control laws.
“We’ve never experienced anything like this before,” Malmö police spokesman Lars-Hakan Lindholm told the Associated Press. ”It’s exceptional that there have been so many murders in such a short period of time.”
Of course, that will only keep guns out of Sven’s hands, not gang members’. Sven’s pretty much screwed, left unarmed to duck behind the smörgåsbord if gunfire erupts. Maybe Sven should move to the ghetto so that, if he does carry illegally and is caught, he can hope to find a sympathetic judge and get out of the hoosegow a little sooner.
I bet Eric Holder soundly approves.
