Sweden Releases Teen Suspect in Uppsala Shooting, Arrests Four Others

Swedish authorities have released a 16-year-old boy previously detained in connection with a fatal shooting in Uppsala that left three dead, prosecutors announced Friday. Four other suspects have since been arrested as the investigation unfolds.

"Suspicions against the 16-year-old have weakened during his time in custody. He is no longer suspected of involvement in the crime," lead prosecutor Andreas Nyberg said in a statement.

The shooting occurred Tuesday afternoon at a hair salon in central Uppsala, a university city roughly 70 kilometers (45 miles) north of Stockholm. Three victims—aged 15 to 20—were killed in what witnesses described as a targeted attack. According to police, two were customers sitting in barber chairs when a masked assailant opened fire, striking them in the head.

Gang Links Suspected Amid Rising Violence

While investigators have not confirmed a motive, Swedish media reports suggest at least one victim had ties to organized crime. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemned the attack as "an extremely violent act" that resembled "an execution."

Uppsala is known as the stronghold of Sweden’s two most notorious gangs, Rumba and Foxtrot, whose leaders—Ismail Abdo and Rawa Majid—are believed to direct operations from abroad. The shooting marks the latest incident in Sweden’s years-long struggle with gang violence, which has seen escalating shootings and bombings linked to drug turf wars.

In recent developments:

• Two men, aged 25 and 35, were arrested Thursday for alleged incitement to murder.

• A third suspect, in his 20s, was detained overnight on murder charges.

• A fourth man, approximately 45, was arrested Friday for suspected involvement in incitement to murder.

Broader Context of Sweden’s Gang Crisis

The attack follows a violent trend in which younger teens—some under Sweden’s age of criminal responsibility (15)—are recruited as hitmen. Last week, a mother and child were severely injured in a bombing targeting a neighbor with alleged gang ties. In April, two died in a Gothenburg gang clash, while a prominent rapper was fatally shot in December.

The government has proposed stricter measures, including wiretapping minors, to combat the crisis. Official data shows 92 homicides in 2024—a decline from 2023 but part of a persistent wave of gang-related bloodshed.

The shooting also comes months after Sweden’s deadliest mass shooting in decades, when a gunman killed 10 at an adult education center in Örebro before taking his own life.