The Swedish government plans to appoint record numbers of police officers in a bid to tackle gun violence.
Interior Minister Mikael Damberg said on Wednesday that 35 people had died in gun violence during the first eight months of this year, up from 30 during the same period in 2020.
The number of incidents involving guns has fallen by 30, to 220, he said on Wednesday.
However, this does not mean that the situation is improving, Damberg said. While he greeted the fact that there were fewer shootings, he noted that the number of gun-related incidents remained around the same as in 2020 for the months of June, July and August.
He noted that the number of explosions fell from 78 to 56.
More police officers
Damberg said the government aims to appoint more police officers.
"In a few years we will have more police officers per capita than in the history of modern politics," he said, adding that lawmakers were energetically pursuing these plans.
Sweden has a major problem with gang crime, with violent incidents occurring most frequently in and around Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo.
