Fatal gang violence in western Sweden has fallen sharply, with no one killed in a criminal network environment in Police Region West for a full year. Swedish police describe the development as a clear break with the recent trend, although they warn that criminal networks continue to recruit young people and commission serious acts of violence. SVT Nyheter reports on the year without fatal gang violence
The last fatal shooting linked to the criminal environment in the region occurred on 9 September 2025 on Hisingen, an island and district of Gothenburg. Since then, shootings, explosions and arson attacks have also declined compared with the previous twelve-month period.
Fatal gang violence in western Sweden has fallen sharply
Between 9 September 2025 and 7 September 2026, police recorded 53 violent incidents in Police Region West, according to figures reported by SVT. These included 10 shootings or attempted shootings and 43 explosions, arson attacks or attempted attacks. Three people were injured in shootings, but none were killed.
During the equivalent period a year earlier, police recorded 100 incidents, including 29 shootings or attempted shootings and 71 explosions, arson attacks or attempts. Seven people were killed and six injured in shootings during that period. SVT’s figures based on Swedish Police data
Regional Police Chief Hampus Nygårds attributes part of the decline to changes in police methods. He said officers have improved their understanding of criminal networks, increased information sharing and intervened earlier when violent crimes are being planned.
“It is a clear break in the trend. But that does not mean you can guarantee that nothing will happen,” Nygårds told SVT.
The Swedish Police Authority’s broader statistics also continue to record explosions and preparations for explosive attacks in Police Region West, illustrating that the decline in killings does not mean organised violence has disappeared. Swedish Police statistics on shootings and explosions
Gothenburg has recorded no shootings for a year
The trend is even more pronounced in Gothenburg, where no one has been shot for a year, according to reports by TV4 and Göteborgs-Posten. The city recorded 47 shootings in 2024, followed by a fall to 15 in 2025. TV4 on the decline in shootings in Gothenburg
Nygårds described the reversal as unusual because cycles of retaliatory violence can make sustained declines difficult. But the Gothenburg figures are narrower than those for Police Region West: they concern shootings in the city, while the regional statistics also include attempted shootings, explosions and arson attacks across a much larger area.
Recruitment into criminal networks remains a problem
Police caution that the underlying mechanisms behind gang violence remain active. According to Nygårds, there is still considerable demand for people willing to carry out serious crimes, while children and teenagers continue to be recruited into criminal networks.
Officers are therefore working to identify young people and other potential perpetrators before planned attacks take place. Nygårds said reducing recruitment and the process through which young people become involved in criminal networks will be essential if the decline is to become more than a temporary reduction in completed attacks.
The figures from western Sweden therefore provide an important territorial indicator of falling organised violence, but they do not yet demonstrate a lasting change across Sweden. The next test will be whether the reduction in shootings and killings can continue while police and other public authorities address the recruitment networks that continue to supply perpetrators.
