In March, a man in his 30s was shot dead in a restaurant in Fittja, south of Stockholm. Now three teenagers are charged with the murder.
Shortly after 9 p.m. on Thursday evening, March 21 this year, several shots are fired at the restaurant in Fittja. The man in his 30s was first shot at outside the restaurant, but fled inside. The perpetrators must then have followed and continued to shoot.
According to the prosecutor, the perpetrators used an automatic carbine and a revolver to carry out the murder.
Prosecutor: Likely gang conflict behind the shootings
In the following days, three teenagers were arrested and later remanded in custody. Now the prosecutor has filed charges against the suspects. There are two 17-year-old boys, one of whom was 16 at the time of the crime, and a 19-year-old man. According to the prosecutor, they must have committed the murders together and in agreement.
“In my opinion, there is much about the act that suggests it was committed in a gang environment or part of a conflict between criminal networks. Among other things, with reference to how the shooting is carried out, in a public place and the perpetrators are heavily armed. Since then, the investigation has not been able to clarify the exact picture of the motive”, says senior prosecutor Niksa Lucic, who was the head of the preliminary investigation.
He says, on the other hand, that the investigation was unable to show that the murder victim had any gang connection or perceived threat towards him.
Was he the intended target or could it have been a misfire?
“It is not something I can comment on”.
Also charged with attempted murder of the restaurant guests
The three people are also charged with attempted murder of the twelve guests and staff who were inside the restaurant. Since, according to the prosecutor, heavy weapons were used in the crime, one of the charges is also aggravated weapons offences.
“In my opinion, there is extensive technical evidence in the form of, among other things, DNA traces that link them to the crime. There is also surveillance video that captured parts of the sequence of events and the shooting at the restaurant”, says senior prosecutor Niksa Lucic, who was the head of the preliminary investigation, in a press release.
The three defendants deny any wrongdoing.
