Shots fired at police station
A police station in Södertälje, near Stockholm, was hit by around fifteen shots from an automatic weapon on Sunday night, following a major confrontation between local youths and police.
Three people have been arrested, suspected of being involved in the rioting, although police are still searching for the gunmen.
Bullets from the guns went through the police station’s windows and walls. Staff threw themselves on the ground to take shelter, before staring to organise how they would defend themselves were the shooting to continue.
“They shot the police station from Nygatan in Södertälje,” said Christer Berg, spokesman for Södertälje police.
“We’re talking about 15 shots.”
None of the bullets entered the rooms where people were working, and nobody was injured. Apart from police staff, two civilian women were in the police station. They were being questioned about a reported harrassment earlier in the day, which had been the background to the rioting.
The women had called the police and reported that they had been harrassed in the shop where they work. Police refused to reveal details of their allegations, because questioning had been broken off by the gunfire, but three young men who had been identified by the women were suspected of making illegal threats.
The three men were released in the evening, but the arrests had provoked strong reactions among 20-35 other youths in the area. The group advanced on the police and attacked them with stones. The rioters were dispersed by around midnight. Three people were arrested, and have now been remanded in custody: one suspected of provoking a riot and the others suspected of rioting.
Police in Södertälje were taking extra security measures on Monday morning, and had drafted in extra personnel. They are now focusing on finding out who had shot the police station, and say they are treating the incident as attempted murder.
Is gun crime a serious problem in Sweden? Discuss here
TT/The Local
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Three people have been arrested, suspected of being involved in the rioting, although police are still searching for the gunmen.
Bullets from the guns went through the police station’s windows and walls. Staff threw themselves on the ground to take shelter, before staring to organise how they would defend themselves were the shooting to continue.
“They shot the police station from Nygatan in Södertälje,” said Christer Berg, spokesman for Södertälje police.
“We’re talking about 15 shots.”
None of the bullets entered the rooms where people were working, and nobody was injured. Apart from police staff, two civilian women were in the police station. They were being questioned about a reported harrassment earlier in the day, which had been the background to the rioting.
The women had called the police and reported that they had been harrassed in the shop where they work. Police refused to reveal details of their allegations, because questioning had been broken off by the gunfire, but three young men who had been identified by the women were suspected of making illegal threats.
The three men were released in the evening, but the arrests had provoked strong reactions among 20-35 other youths in the area. The group advanced on the police and attacked them with stones. The rioters were dispersed by around midnight. Three people were arrested, and have now been remanded in custody: one suspected of provoking a riot and the others suspected of rioting.
Police in Södertälje were taking extra security measures on Monday morning, and had drafted in extra personnel. They are now focusing on finding out who had shot the police station, and say they are treating the incident as attempted murder.
Is gun crime a serious problem in Sweden? Discuss here
TT/The Local
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