pic: thelocal.se
It’s difficult to get a good sense of the numbers of explosions that have occurred in Sweden over the past year. In August, SVT reported that there were 120 explosions to which the bomb squad was sent out between January and July of this year. After the three latest bombs in Malmö this weekend, DN is reporting 102 explosions where the bomb squad was sent in so far this year.
The one sure thing in all these numbers is that no other country in Europe has these kind of statistics. In fact, DN reports, experts are coming to Sweden to take a closer look at this development for themselves, and to think about how they can keep it from happening where they come from.
So far, there have not been large number of deaths and injuries from detonations, but there are concerns that as the bombs become more advanced and able to be set off from far away, via a mobile, for example, the number of casualties will rise. “Previously, these cases dealt with hand grenades, and there could be witnesses” said criminologist Amir Rostami to DN. “But now, when one can plant a bomb and set if off from a distance, it gets more complicated.” Very few of these crimes are solved – in many cases, material that could be used to identify the criminal parties is simply blown up.
It’s not just anybody doing this, but anybody can be hit” said one man to DN in regards to the bomb in Almgården early on Saturday. “I was sleeping with my kids, 11 and 4 years old, when the bomb went off. We all jumped up in our beds and for the rest of the night it was impossible to calm down.”
Police in the South Region have created a committee to examine the issue and to see how to infiltrate the groupings of people behind the bombings (sprängningskommission). Meanwhile, Veronica Truedsson and her family are pulling up stakes and leaving Malmö. “We’re scared to death of the escalating violence here” (DN.se/leavingMalmo).