Teenage contract killers in Sweden

In the once idyllic Sweden In recent years there has been an explosion of violence, wars criminal gangs are run in city centers, and the perpetrators of that violence are minors with an immigrant background.

It took on such proportions that Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson last year involved the army to help the police. He previously accused the Swedish government of contributing to the situation with an irresponsible immigration policy and that integration is a failed cause.

Television crew DW tried to find out how gangs recruit contract killers as young as 14.

The small town of Karlskog in central Sweden made headlines after an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old were prevented from carrying out the ordered liquidation of people there at the last minute.

According to official data, 120 children under the age of 15 were accused of murder or participation in murder in 2024, which is four times more than two years ago.

Police officer Emeli Olson knows that gang violence has long since arrived in the Swedish province. Admittedly, during her visit to the small town of Karlskogo, everything is mostly calm.

"In our country, gangs recruit minors through digital platforms. That's why we try to find children who are at risk in a timely manner. "For example, when someone else notices to me that they admire the lifestyle that gang members lead," says Olson.

A Swedish television reporter has publicly exposed unscrupulous child recruitment attempts. She introduced herself as a 14-year-old boy and looked for work in chat groups where gang members hang out.

Gangs act like they want to help at first

And among the children in the small town of Karlskogo, there are stories about attempts by gangs to recruit them. At least that's what a 14-year-old told DW.

"They first act as if they want to help us, and then they ask us to do something." "I wouldn't be afraid, but I would tell my father about it," he says.

Gang bosses now operate from abroad, the Swedish government claims, and it wants to increase the police presence in big cities and toughen laws for minors.

"Now is the opportunity to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 14," said Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson.

According to the government's plans, even 14-year-old criminals would soon have to go to prison.

For Kristine Njira Erickson, a teacher at a closed institution, that's the wrong way to go.

"They have media equipment here, they can watch a movie, there is room for six students," she says.

Sometimes young people don't even want to leave that institution, because they are afraid of life outside it.

"It happens that their families are threatened while they are here." And then they start to realize that the idea of ​​quick money might not have been so good," says Stefan Fjelklang, a psychologist at a closed institution.

Sweden is still looking for ways to curb gang violence and solve the problem of child killers.