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Busy Midsummer's Eve for Swedish police

TT/The Local/pvs
TT/The Local/pvs - [email protected]
Busy Midsummer's Eve for Swedish police

Police forces across Sweden had a busy evening on Friday with widespread drunkenness, fighting, a mugging, and a stabbing reported as the country celebrated Midsummer.

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Gothenburg police reported that the festivities were little worse than a regular weekend although other locations across the west coast experienced a sharp increase in drunkenness and assault.

Marstrand, Kungshamn, Smögen and Grebbestad were among the worst hit by the Midsummer revelry.

Some 29 people were taken into custody for drunkenness and in Kungshamn there was report of a mugging at an ATM.

A man was stabbed in Sollentuna in northern Stockholm and police have a launched an investigation into attempted murder.

Police only came across the victim after they had been called to investigate a case of vandalism of a bus in the suburb.

In Oskarshamn in southern Sweden a man was rushed to hospital at 4am suffering from severe burns following a car accident just north of town.

The man's car had caught fire in the accident and he had to be pulled free by some friends.

In Nyköping in eastern Sweden a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of firearms offences and aggravated assault after having spent his Midsummer Eve threatening several people with guns.

The man was involved in a car accident in his car just outside of Nyköping and when passers-by stopped to help him, he pointed a gun at them.

They however managed to overpower the man, seize his gun, and hold him until the police arrived.

There were also reports of a serious assault in Veberöd in southern Sweden with one man reported to have sustained serious injuries.

But it wasn't all violence and crime in Sweden on Friday, with police in Dalarna - a popular location for celebrating Swedes - reporting that the county was relatively calm.

"A nice and safe Midsummer," Göran Lekander at Dalarna police said.

In perennial trouble spot Borgholm on Öland around 20 people were detained for drunkenness as well as some five cases of assault and two of drunk driving.

"A lot of mess and trouble, but no serious incidents," was the summary by Kalmar and Kronoberg police chief Catarina Karlsson.

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