OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:15 PM PT — Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Sweden ended 2019 with a spike in bombings across the nation, which
has prompted concern among security officials. The Crime Prevention
Council estimated 236 incidents happened in the first 11 months of last
year. The figure marked a major increase from all of 2018, when 162
incidents were recorded.An official with the Swedish Police Authority said bombings and explosions have changed over the past year.
“The phenomenon of explosives as weapons in conflicts is relatively new,” stated Stefan Hector. “This means that we have considerable uncertainty as to where the parts for the explosive charges come from.”
Bombers are reportedly using more homemade explosive devices and attacks are happening in places where more members of the public are put in danger.
“These are used either to hurt or intimidate, but now there is a new recklessness,” said Hector. “The bombers are indifferent to the fact that people could be hurt.”
Shootings have also increased across the country and are being linked to gang violence.
