Swedish police baffled by execution-style killings

A NEW wave of execution-style shootings in Sweden’s third largest city has left police puzzled, raising concerns that Malmo has become a gangland battleground.

Yesterday dozens of police took to the streets in the southern Swedish city of 250,000 people to try to calm the public and collect information about the attacks, which come only a year after a suspected serial killer was arrested there.

“We’ve never experienced anything like this before. It’s exceptional that there have been so many murders in such a short period of time,” police spokesman Lars-Hakan Lindholm said. “People are worried and want to talk about it.”

In less than six weeks, five people have been shot dead in execution-style killings, prompting calls for tougher gun laws.

Mr Lindholm said police cover had been increased by 30 during the week and by 40 at weekends. Malmo is a diverse city, with 40 per cent of its residents first- or second- generation immigrants.

The latest murder occurred on Tuesday, when a man in his late forties was shot dead in broad daylight on an open street near his Malmo home.

Two days earlier, a 15-year-old boy was killed during New Year celebrations.

“They’re almost like executions,” Mr Lindholm said of the killings.

Last year police arrested and charged Peter Mangs, 39, for the killing of three people and the attempted murder of another 13 over a seven-year period. The supposed lone gunman targeted only immigrants.