How the murder of a Swedish rapper shocked a nation and put police on the back foot
They began heading for the shopping mall exit when they saw the police. One of the four gang members, a local rapper called Lelo whose music videos venerate handguns and violence, turned to exchange pleasantries with Mike, an officer with the Swedish police.
Lelo and Mike have history. During a recent riot outside the mall that prompted a killing that could easily have led to another six, Lelo was among 32 arrested. In his subsequent court appearance, Mike had to intervene as Lelo’s posturing threatened to boil over.
“Now we get along, say a few words to each other. It’s important because you don’t know when you’re going to bump into them next. Here, everyone knows everyone,” Mike smiled. Here is Hjällbo, a grid of tower blocks and faded flats on the outskirts of Gothenburg.
Hjällbo is also dominated by the city’s most brutal criminal network, an organisation that openly challenges the state and whose gangland lifestyle not only threatens to reshape Swedish politics but also to undermine its democracy.
Once one of the most peaceful countries in Europe, Sweden is plagued by the worst rates of deadly gun violence in Europe, 10 times higher than Germany. Its problems offer a warning of what can happen when integration fails.
As Sweden searches for solutions to its surge in gangland violence, an obvious question emerges: how did one of the world’s most open societies incubate such a vicious subculture?
