Police across Sweden were kept busy on Midsummer Eve as celebrations got out of hand at several of the more notorious party locations across the country.
Two men suffered minor injuries in shooting incidents on Hisingen in Gothenburg. The men are previously known to the police. Gothenburg police reported an otherwise busy night with widespread drunkenness and public order offences. Windy weather helped to keep the revelry in check in coastal areas however.
“It has been a relatively quiet evening along the Bohuslän coast where it has been cold, windy and wet,” Göran Carlbom of the county police said to news agency TT.
One person was injured in a shooting in Malmö. Skåne police reported an otherwise relatively calm evening with only isolated fighting and drunkenness.
“But Midsummer is a little different. Fighting doesn’t start in the pubs, it occurs at home when parties get out of control. We have been called out to quite a few private homes,” said Erik Jeppsson to TT.
Kalmar police reported a busy day with reports of assault and an alleged rape already on Thursday evening. Midsummer Eve continued in the same vein, especially on the traditionally rowdy island of Öland. By midnight police had been called out to check on 15 reports of assault, many of them serious.
“We have had a lot to do this evening. Around 20 people have been arrested for assault or drunken disorder. Four young men have been taken to hospital following assaults with knives or having been kicked,” said Jan-Erik Petersson of Kalmar police’s Öland unit.
Young people, large quantities of alcohol and the odd assault were all that was reported from the holiday island of Gotland. No one was seriously injured however.
Police in Dalarna, Östersund and Umeå reported that Midsummer festivities were calmer than usual.
“There have been cases of assault and fighting across the county and quite a few private parties have got out of control,” said Henrik Jonsson of Jämtland police.
Holding cells in Uppsala, Sörmland, Östergötland and the capital Stockholm have seen a high turnover of inhabitants, many of them drunk. No serious offences were reported however.
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