Teenage boy shot dead in Norrköping

A boy in his upper teens was shot dead in the city of Norrköping, central Sweden, on Sunday evening.

Police were called out to the scene at around 8pm. The boy was found injured and was taken to hospital.

Later the same evening, it was confirmed the boy – who is younger than 18 – had died in hospital from his injuries.

It’s the latest in a series of violent incidents in Norrköping. At the end of March there was a powerful explosion at an apartment building and earlier the same month a person was injured in a shooting in a shopping centre.

Police said they were so far treating the shooting on Sunday as a separate incident, but would look into possible links.

Swedish vocabulary: dead – död

Swedish bears coming out of hibernation

Sweden’s bears are coming out of six months of hibernation, but that doesn’t mean you have to be extra careful in the woods.

“Of course they are hungry when they’ve been asleep for six months. They’re on the hunt for food and probably eat whatever they can. But they’re not aggressive, as long as they are not provoked,” Benny Gäfvert, from wildlife preservation charity WWF, told the TT newswire. 

Unless they are out hunting with dogs, it’s very unusual for people out in the forest to encounter a bear, as bears will normally get out of the way of humans and hide before even being seen. If you’re out and about in a forest where you know there may be bears, make sure you make noise when you walk so that the bear can hear you (and it will stay out of your way), by for example talking or singing.

If you do see a bear, you should speak calmly to make the bear understand that you’re human and not a threat, and walk away. 

If, against all odds, a bear does attack you, lie down flat on the ground with your arms protecting your head and neck.

Swedish vocabulary: a bear – en björn 

Swedish government to roll out new budget proposals

Sweden’s Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson is set to present the right-wing government’s spring amendment budget on Monday. 

We already know that the budget contains new proposals for 2024 to the tune of at least 16.8 billion kronor, a stark contrast to last year’s amendment budget – as its name suggest, an “extra” budget on top of the main autumn budget – of only four billion kronor. 

“The fact that inflation is falling means we can start switching to more normal economic policy,” Svantesson told Swedish news agency TT.

She added that she hoped to compensate households – who have been hit hard by raised costs and interest rates in the past couple of years – in future budget bills, to strengthen their purchasing power and ensure that going to work every day actually pays off.

Svantesson will hand the budget bill to parliament at 8am, April 15th, and will hold a press conference after that.

We’ll cover the budget proposals on The Local, and what they mean for foreigners in Sweden, so keep an eye out for articles on our homepage.

Swedish vocabulary: spring amendment budget – vårändringsbudget

Two held in connection with Skärholmen fatal shooting

Two people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 39-year-old man in Stockholm’s southern suburb Skärholmen last week, a murder that grabbed headlines after it emerged the man was gunned down in front of his son simply for telling off a group of young men.

The people arrested are suspected of protecting a criminal, and the prosecutor described them as young and male.

Politicians from both sides of the political spectrum condemned the shooting, which reignited the debate about how Sweden can crack down on gang crime. It happened before the Norrköping shooting on Sunday and was at the time the 11th fatal shooting in Sweden this year.

Swedish vocabulary: to protect a criminal – att skydda en brottsling