Shootout at the Malmö Corral

Our Swedish correspondent Freedom fighter sends a couple of reports about a culturally enriched shooting in Malmö.

When I first started covering Malmö four or five years ago, immigrant violence was largely confined to stone-throwing and arson. Since then it has escalated to knifings and shootings, and there have even been incidents when shots were directed at the police.

Freedom Fighter says:

There has been more violence in Sweden’s multicultural capital Malmöstan, as members of an immigrant gang shoot two people who were to witness against the gang’s leader in court.

The first article is from The Local, and is in English:

Trial Witness Shot in Malmö

A man who was due to testify against a member of the Black Cobra criminal gang has been shot at a bus stop in Malmö. A female bystander was also injured in the shooting. Both victims were shot in the leg.

The victims were both shot at a bus stop on Erikfältsgatan, in the Söderkulla area of the city centre. The alarm was raised at 8:30am on Wednesday.

The male victim, 33, was due to testify at the trial a 30-year-old man charged with assault, drugs offences and drunk driving. The man was the alleged victim in the assault case.

The trial has now been called off, according to the Sydsvenskan newspaper.

Prosecutor Bo Albrektsson said that he believed that the 33-year-old had been reluctant to testify, but did not have reason to believe that he was scared or had been threatened.

According to Sydsvenskan, the victim was approached by two men who asked whether he was due to testify at the trial. When he confirmed that he was, he was shot by one of the men. The woman, 24, is believed to have been hit by the same bullet or by splinters from the bullet.

Witnesses have said they saw two men running from the scene.

“We are now looking for them. We are also going to interview the witnesses,” said Mikael Persson of Skåne Police.

Both victims were conscious when they arrived at the hospital. Police were on Wednesday morning conducting a search of the crime scene.

The Swedish Court Service underlines on its website the importance of ensuring the safety the 100,000 people who testify in trials each year. Courts use volunteers to support witnesses and offers the possibility for people to testify without the presence of a person of whom they are afraid. The possibility of permanent security checks at court entrances is currently being discussed.

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The safety of witnesses and victims outside of court buildings is primarily the responsibility of the police, said Hjalmar Forsberg, chief justice at Stockholm District Court. He said it was very unusual for witnesses to be protected by being driven to court by police.

“I have known it to happen on a few occasions,” he said.

Forsberg said it was extremely important to ensure the safety of people due to appear in court:

“It is a disaster when something happens like that which has clearly just happened in Malmö,” he said.

Freedom Fighter has translated excerpts from a Swedish-language article from Sydsvenskan with more details about the trial witnesses who were shot:

Two injured in Malmö shooting

The victims were both shot in the leg at the bus stop on Erikfältsgatan, in the Söderkulla area of the city centre. The alarm was raised at 8:30am on Wednesday. Witnesses have said they saw two men running from the bus stop.

“We are now looking for them. We are also going to interview the witnesses,” said Mikael Persson of Skåne Police.

The male victim is 33, the woman is 24. Both were conscious when they arrived at the hospital. Police have not released any further information about the victims’ identity or revealed whether they know each other. They are expected to be interviewed when their injuries allow.

Police were on Wednesday morning conducting a search of the crime scene. Mikael Persson said it was too early to say what type of gun had been used or how many shots had been fired.

For a complete listing of previous enrichment news, see The Cultural Enrichment Archives.