Two unidentified gunmen entered a pub in Gothenburg, Sweden and began firing indiscriminately at people inside the restaurant.
[1] The pub, Vår Krog & Bar, is located in the Biskopsgården neighbourhood of Gothenburg on Hisingen, an area that has witnessed gang violence.
[9] A witness who spoke to journalists for Aftonbladet, said that he saw two people enter the restaurant in Biskopsgården carrying guns that looked like AK-47 assault rifles, and start shooting.
The reports mention a thick stench of iron and gunpowder from the blood and gunshots making it hard for the police to breathe.
[18] The two who received the longest sentences had their names published by Sveriges Television, contrary to standard practice, as their crime had a great impact on the general public, as the majority of the customers in the pub were ordinary law-abiding citizens.
[17] The three perpetrators aged 21 were later named as Josef Hällgren Abdulrahman (The Footballer), Jonis Adan (The Car Renter) and Onur Corap (The Security Guard).
[20] Innocent random bystander, Petar Petrovic (born 12 July 1994) a Swedish citizen of Serbian origin, who worked at the pub as a DJ and was scheduled to start university in London, was killed.
[4][21] The other casualty was a 25-year-old who was reported to have recently been released from jail and said to be a leading figure in a local gang, called Vårvädersligan after the square where the shootings took place.
[10] Hells Angels, Bandidos Motorcycle Club and gangs made up of members of several immigrant groups reportedly battle for control of the local drug trade.
The tragedy has also shone a spotlight on a hidden aspect of Swedish society that reads like the subplot of a Stieg Larsson novel, in which poverty, racism and segregation are driving young men from immigrant backgrounds into gangs and gun crime.”[4] This crime is part of a recent wave of crimes that, according to Swedish journalist Joakim Palmkvist, play into "the hand of the far right," driving centrist voters to support the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.
[26] The police and prosecutor were criticized in Aftonbladet and other media for translating gangsta rap lyrics that the shooters had listened to before and after the shooting, and using this as part of the evidence in the case.