Police: Malmo shooting suspect is a 15-year-old boy

Malmo, Aug 21: Police in the southern Swedish city of Malmo said Saturday that a suspect arrested over a fatal shooting at a shopping center is a 15-year-old boy.

What do we know about the suspect?

The Aftonbladet newspaper reported that the unnamed boy, who was detained a short time after Friday's shooting, has allegedly been involved in criminal activity for several years.

The police, school and healthcare had previously submitted several reports of concern about him, Aftonbladet wrote.

The paper said a court last year had ordered the boy to be taken into the care of social services, due to his behavior.

Aftonbladet said the young suspect fled the mall in a taxi after the shooting but was later picked up by police.

He has denied any crimes, according to the Sydsvenskan newspaper.

How did the shooting unfold?

Police were called to the Emporia shopping mall in Malmo on Friday afternoon after reports of gunfire.

A 31-year-old man was wounded in the incident and later died from his injuries.

A female passerby was also wounded. Her injuries are serious but not life threatening.

The mall was evacuated and police said they questioned witnesses and watched video surveillance from the scene.

The shooting was likely a targeted killing, Swedish broadcaster SVT cited local police chief Petra Stenkula as saying.

According to the broadcaster, the police assume that the young suspect acted alone but others could have been involved.

Aftonbladet said the dead victim was known to police as belonging to Malmo's gang scene.

Sydsvenskan reported that he was suspected in several murders and bombings and had a bounty on his head.

Gang-related killings on the rise

Murders due to gang violence have increased this year, prompting political parties to make crime a key issue in next month's election campaign.

Police figures show that 44 people have been shot dead so far this year, almost all of them linked to gang crime.

Police chief Stenkula admitted that Malmo, the country's third largest city, is in a "spiral of violence."

Following the latest shooting, the head of Sweden's Centre Party, Annie Loof, complained on Twitter about a "complete indifference to human life" by criminals.

In July, three people were killed in a shooting in a shopping mall in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, around 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Malmo.

Source: DW