Shootings in Sweden halved in 2025 as police tackle gang crime
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Shooting incidents in Sweden have fallen to 147 so far in 2025, a 63 per cent decrease compared with 2022.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Sweden's shootings dropped 63% from 2022 to 2024, due to new policing approaches by the right-wing government elected in 2022.
- Fatalities remain at 43, despite reduced shootings. Police are seizing gang assets, but struggle to stop online recruitment.
- Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer stated, "New tools, resources and methods are starting to hit the criminal networks," while acknowledging continued challenges.
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STOCKHOLM – The number of shootings in Sweden has more than halved since hitting a peak in 2022, reflecting new policing approaches introduced by the right-wing government, which is preparing for a parliamentary election in 2026.
Shooting incidents fell to 147 so far in 2025, a 63 per cent decrease compared with 2022 when there were 390 shootings, and a 49 per cent decrease compared with 2024, according to a Reuters analysis of official figures.
The number of fatalities, however, was unchanged from 2024 at 43, though lower than the 62 killed in 2022.
The government won the 2022 election on a pledge to stop gang crime and drastically reduce immigration. It trails the opposition in opinion polls ahead of the next election in September, but the gap has narrowed.
Gang-related crime has been high in Sweden for more than two decades and, over that period, the amount of gun violence has risen to among the highest in Europe from among the lowest.
Among those killed in 2025, 11 died in a school shooting in February, which was not gang-related.
“New tools, resources and methods are starting to hit the criminal networks,” Minister of Justice Gunnar Strommer told Reuters, but added that more needed to be done.
“I want to remain humble. This is complicated, and we still have levels of violence no decent society can accept.”
Legislation that has drawn criticism from lawyers and some politicians has introduced changes such as anonymity for some court witnesses, increased electronic surveillance, tougher sentences and what are known as safety zones, where the police can search people even if they are not suspected of any crime.
Mr Johan Olsson, head of the Police National Operations Department, said the measures had allowed the police to seize gangs’ assets and become more efficient in preventing shootings.
“Where we don’t see much success is stopping the recruitment to the gangs,” he told Reuters, adding that much of the recruitment takes place online.
Sweden has around 17,500 active gang members, according to police figures. REUTERS
