Swedish authorities have placed a 12-year-old boy into care after detaining him as the prime suspect in a botched contract killing, in a case that has shocked the nation and exposed the grim reality of youth gang recruitment.
A Fatal Mistake in a Malmö Car
The incident occurred on the evening of December 12 in the Oxie area of Malmö, southern Sweden. At around 10.30pm, a 21-year-old man was travelling with friends in an Audi along Galgebacksvägen when he was shot. The victim, who was sitting in the back seat, was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
According to reports in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, the young suspect allegedly shot the wrong person. The intended target was reportedly someone else inside the vehicle. After the shooting, the other passengers drove to a residential street in Hindby, abandoned the car, and contacted a third party to alert the police.
The 12-Year-Old Prime Suspect
Following a murder investigation, police identified the 12-year-old boy as their main suspect and took him into custody. Due to being below Sweden's age of criminal responsibility, he was formally taken into care. However, prosecutor Caroline Carlquist has decided to initiate legal proceedings against the minor due to the extreme severity of the alleged crime.
Reports from Expressen suggest the boy, from central Sweden, had allegedly been given several 'assassination assignments' and was promised £20,000 for this specific murder. The court heard he previously lived with his grandmother, placed there by social services when he was seven, and had been subject to multiple investigations concerning his parents' alleged violence and abuse.
A Disturbing Trend in Youth Violence
Criminologist Manne Gerell, an associate professor, told Sydsvenskan he was unaware of any previous completed murder in Sweden with a suspect this young. The case underscores a deeply worrying trend.
Rasem Chebil, leading the investigation for Malmö Police, expressed grave concern that perpetrators of violent crime are getting younger. 'We see that it is creeping down in age. We have had some very young perpetrators, especially in acts with hand grenades,' he said. Chebil blamed social media, suggesting children are scouted via their phones by strangers who exploit them. 'Often these young people believe that their families will suffer if they don't carry out the tasks,' he added.
Author and former lawyer Evin Cetin, who has written on youth gangs, drew stark parallels. 'They are child soldiers,' she told the Telegraph, comparing the situation to groups like ISIS. 'They are getting used by older people who manipulate them... It's really easy to control children.'
The statistics paint a bleak picture. According to the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), Sweden has the highest prevalence of youth street gang involvement among Nordic nations. In 2022, 73 Swedish youths aged 15-20 were suspected of murder or attempted murder with a firearm—a dramatic rise from just 10 a decade earlier. In 2023, with a population of 10.6 million, Sweden saw 55 fatal shootings across 363 incidents. In stark contrast, neighbouring Norway, Finland, and Denmark combined recorded only six fatal shootings in the same period.
