Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

CRIME

Police officer stabbed during raid in central Sweden

A man is suspected of attempted murder after stabbing a police officer in an apartment in central Sweden.

Published: 25 November 2019 08:09 CET

Police officer stabbed during raid in central Sweden

File photo of Swedish police: Johan Nilsson / TT

Police entered the property in Älvdalen, Dalarna after a report that a man had threatened his family members with a knife.

When they arrived, the suspect attacked the police officers and one was stabbed in the shoulder. The police officer was taken to hospital, but his injuries were not described as serious.

During the raid, the suspect was also injured when a police officer shot at his leg.

He then barricaded himself in the apartment, but shortly after that he was detained and taken to hospital. The rest of the family members were evacuated with no injuries.

The man is now suspected of attempted murder in relation to the attack on the police officer, and police press spokesperson Mats Öhman said “he will also be investigated for the other suspected crimes”.

A routine internal investigation has also been opened, as is normally the case when a police officer uses their service weapon against a person.

“Violence against police employees is completely unacceptable. My thoughts go to our colleague who was injured,” said national police chief Anders Thornberg in an online statement.

“Being a police officer is not a risk-free profession, but as an employer we do all we can to minimize the risks and to equip police so that the consequences of any incident are as minimal as possible,” he said.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Where are the new 'specially vulnerable areas' in Sweden's cities?

Four new districts have joined the Sweden’s National Police’s list of “specially vulnerable areas”, “risk areas” and “vulnerable areas”, six have left the list entirely, three have been downgraded from the “specially vulnerable” category and one has joined it.

In total, Sweden has 59 districts classed as troubled in some way, which is two fewer than in 2021, the last time the list was updated.

“The clearest trend that we see happening is a stagnation,” the police wrote in its biannual update on the areas.

“The number of areas judged to be vulnerable has stayed stable through the years. Compared to 2022, three-quarters of the areas have developed in a negative direction or been unchanged, while the rest have had a positive development.”

The police define an “especially vulnerable area” as being “characterized by social issues and a criminal presence which has led to a widespread disinclination to participate in the judicial process and difficulties for the police to fulfil their mission”.

The “vulnerable” category is defined as “a geographically defined area characterized by a low socio-economic status where criminals have an impact on the local community”.

“Risk areas” sit somewhere in between the two categories.

Seved in Malmö has been removed from the list of “specially vulnerable areas”. This picture shows a street in Seved cordoned off after an attempted murder in 2022. Photo: Andreas Hillergren/TT

Which areas have improved?

Biskopsgården, Gottsunda and Södra Sofielund (Seved), have been downgraded from “specially vulnerable” to “risk area”, while Karlsund in Landskrona has been downgraded from being a “risk area” to just a “vulnerable area”.

Police said that these reevaluations had generally followed “changes in the level of open drug-dealing, threats, violence and abuse of police personnel, falls in violent crime, or changes in the criminal groups, for example following the detention of leading criminals.

Six areas, Älvsjö/Solberga, Östberga, Edsberg and Termovägen in Stockholm, Lagersberg in Eskilstuna, and Charlottesborg in Kristianstad, have left the list of troubled areas entirely.

Police said that these areas had left the list because they had seen “a positive development for a considerable length of time”, which was judged to be “stable”.

“Local police officers now describe these areas in the same way as they describe other non-vulnerable areas,” the report said. “Violent crime and open drug dealing has reduced at the same time as police can operate in the area without any problems.”

Three specially vulnerable areas, Rinkeby/Tensta and Husby in Stockholm, and Hjällbo in Gothenburg, were judged to have improved, but not to the extent that a change in category was warranted.

Which areas have got worse?

Hovsjö in Södertälje, outside Stockholm, was the only new area to join the “especially vulnerable” list.

Saltskog, also in Södertälje, joined the “vulnerable” list for the first time, as did Hagalund in Stockholm, Årby in Eskilstuna and Hageby in Norrköping.

Police judged that the situation in Rosengård, Malmö, Fittja in Stockholm and Hässleholmen in Borås had deteriorated, with the three areas still in the “specially vulnerable category”.

The situation had also deteriorated in Tureborg in Stockholm, but not to the extent that it needed to be upgraded from “risk area” to “specially vulnerable area”.

Of the areas which already classed as “vulnerable” in 2021, only Jordbro in Nynäshamn and Skogås, Storvreten and Vårberg in Stockholm had moved in a negative direction.

Url copied to clipboard!