How Sweden's youth homes nurtured killers, creating Europe's gun crime capital - eviltoast

The killer was only 14 and had lived in youth homes as a ward of the authorities since he was eight.

A year ago, a gang helped the boy escape, put him up in a hotel and gave him cannabis, food and new clothes. Six days later, gang members told him it was time to repay them for their kindness. They had a job for him.

Together with another youth, the boy, who as a juvenile cannot be identified, shot dead a 33-year-old Hells Angels biker. He was convicted by a court which described the case as a gangland contract killing.

As he was too young to be sentenced, he was handed back to social services and sent to another youth home.

Sweden has long prided itself on one of the world’s most generous social safety nets, with a state that looks after vulnerable people at all stages of life.

But these days it also has another distinction: by far the highest per capita rate of gun violence in the EU. Last year 55 people were shot dead in 363 separate shootings in a country of just 10 million people. By comparison, there were just six fatal shootings in the three other Nordic countries - Norway, Finland and Denmark - combined.

  • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    26·
    5 months ago

    Of course, plenty of good happens here too, it’s just that it doesn’t fit the “if it bleeds it leads” business model so you never hear about it. Some areas here are just as safe as some areas of europe, some areas of europe are just as unsafe as some areas here.

    This may surprise you to learn, but the US is comparable to the size of the entire EU, and as a result there are similar variances in safety between the two.

    Er, I mean, US GOOD EUROPE BAD. Did I fill my role correctly there after that silly nuance break?

    • Tattorack@lemmy.worldEnglish
      43·
      5 months ago

      The US is overall a shithole masquerading as a first world country, only on the basis that the US is lucky enough to have had Europe use the dollar to rebuild after WWII. You’d have to squint incredibly hard to find any place comparable to Europe in the US, and then you’d still be stuck with car centric neighbourhoods and healthcare that’ll put you in a life debt for stubbing your toe.