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PETER MANGS

Life in prison for Malmö sniper Peter Mangs

Serial sniper Peter Mangs was sentenced to life in prison by the Malmö District Court on Friday for murder and attempted murder.

Published: 23 November 2012 09:28 CET
Updated: 23 November 2012 14:53 CET
Life in prison for Malmö sniper Peter Mangs

He was sentenced for two murders, five attempted murders and three cases of making aggravated illegal threats. He has been ordered to pay damages of over 1.1 million kronor ($165,000).

According to the court, Mangs’s crimes displayed “extreme recklessness and a complete lack of empathy for other people”.

“Based on the forensic psychiatric evidence presented in the case, Peter Mangs didn’t suffer from any serious mental illness at the time of the deeds or during examinations. Thus there is no reason to give him special treatment when it comes to his punishment,” the court wrote in a statement.

Mangs’s lawyer Jesper Montan was unsurprised by the verdict.

“We’ve known for a long time that Mangs would get a tough penalty,” he told the TT news agency.

RELATED GALLERY: Malmö residents react to the Mangs sentence

Earlier this month, Mangs had accused a lay judge who heard the case of bias and demanded a retrial, but hie request was rejected.

Mangs was arrested in November 2010 after a string of shootings that took place in Malmö against people of immigrant origin.

He was charged with killing two men of immigrant origin, aged 23 and 66, in 2003 and a 20-year-old Swedish woman who had been sitting in a car with an immigrant man in 2009.

He was also charged with 12 attempted murders in which he fired numerous shots with his Glock 19 pistol at homes, businesses and cars as well as out in the open, seriously injuring a number of people and coming close to killing many others.

In July, after a highly publicized trial and a lengthy criminal investigation, the court ruled that he was guilty of 13 of the charges.

Mangs’s lawyer told TT his client would have the final say on whether to appeal the verdict, and while no decision had yet been taken, he assumed Mangs would likely launch an appeal.

Meanwhile, residents of Malmö welcomed the verdict for a man who had terrorized their city for years before his arrest.

“It was a frightening time when Mangs was at large particularly for women. I spoke about it a lot with my family,” Stefan Eldevall, 39, told The Local.

“When he was caught it was a big relief…now he has been given life which, to be honest, is the only obvious sentence.”

TT/The Local/og

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PETER MANGS

Swedish sniper wanted to ignite ‘gang warfare’

Convicted Swedish sniper Peter Mangs came close to confessing to another two murders on Tuesday, commenting on the string of attacks he had denied in court but now says were meant to create tensions in Sweden's multicultural city.

Published: 13 August 2013 07:58 CEST
Swedish sniper wanted to ignite 'gang warfare'

Mangs, who was jailed last year in Malmö, southern Sweden, told the regional Sydsvenskan newspaper on Tuesday that his goal with the series of shootings that terrorized the city was to incited gang warfare. On Monday, he confirmed that he had killed 20-year-old Trez West Persson.

The interview also contained quotes that came close to a confession to two further murders, after telling the paper’s reporter on Monday that he had shot Persson and seriously injured her companion, in a parked car in Malmö.

Her companion, Mangs’ intended target, survived and gave evidence at the trial in Malmö. His short hair revealed a long scar snaking across his skull, the physical reminder of the attack which he told court had altered his life for ever.

Mangs told the paper that the man did not look “like a criminal”, rather that the circumstances pointed to him being a lawbreaker, and that this was enough for the serial killer to feel the need to strike.

“It was a hunt! When the right opportunity presented itself, one that filled all the right criteria, then the idea was to do it,” he said.

On Tuesday, Mangs continued his saga by telling Sydsvenskan that he had engaged in target practice across the entire city at least a hundred times.

Mangs was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for two murders and five attempted murders. In April, he was convicted of another three attempted murders by the Malmö appeals court (hovrätten). The Supreme Court denied his lawyers a chance to appeal.

Mangs was also charged with killing two men aged 23 and 66, in 2003, as well as the 20-year-old Swedish woman in 2009.

As many of his victims had immigrant backgrounds, the attacks spread fear in Sweden’s most multicultural city before Mangs was apprehended by the police. Swedish police grappled with his motives, as Mangs had no clear cut ideological profile, but has spoken about his disdain for criminals.

He was also charged with a slew of attempted murders in which he fired numerous shots with his Glock 19 pistol at homes, businesses and cars as well as out in the open, seriously injuring a number of people and coming close to killing many others.

The Swedish prosecutor who headed the case against him, Solveig Wollstad, said on Monday that the confession may help Persson’s family.

TT/The Local/at

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