Social contagion as Sweden sees surge in deadly shootings Sweden has gone from having one of the lowest rates of gun violence in Europe to having one of the highest, a report said on Wednesday, describing what one researcher called a social contagion of killings.
Sweden, with a population of 10 million, saw 42 deadly shootings in 2019, the last year with verified statistics. Preliminary figures for 2020 also showed more than 40 people were shot dead.
People gather beside flowers and candles at the site where a 12-year-old girl was shot dead at a motorway service area in Botkyrka, near Stockholm, Sweden on 3rd August, 2020. PICTURE: Stina Stjernkvist/TT News Agency via Reuters.