Nouvelles sur les armes à feu
Swedish Customs 'Not Focused' on Weapon Smuggling from Denmark
5 January 2012
Local (Stockholm)
The Öresund bridge, connecting Sweden and Denmark, has long been known to be an important route for weapons smugglers to get their wares into Sweden. Despite this only seven illegal weapons were seized there over the course of 2011.
"We have been mainly focusing on drugs," said Anders Trägårdh, head of operations at customs in Malmö, to daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN).
The debate about the illegal smuggling of weapons has been given a new lease of life after a... (GunPolicy.org)
Swedish Gun Laws May Be Tightened - Minister for Justice
4 January 2012
Local (Stockholm)
Sweden's minister for justice, Beatrice Ask, says Swedish weapons laws will be looked over, after recent events in Malmö where five people have been shot within the space of a month.
"The previous report didn't see a reason to change the law. I am not happy with that and we are looking into it at the moment," Ask told news agency TT.
The Chairman for the Committee on Justice, Social Democrat Morgan Johansson, has been demanding that Ask does something about the... (GunPolicy.org)
Swedish Editors Charged for Buying Illegal Pistol, Handing it to Police
27 December 2011
Local (Stockholm)
Thomas Mattsson, editor-in-chief of one of Sweden's largest newspapers, has been charged for instigating a weapons offense.
Mattsson heads the Expressen daily newspaper, and in the fall of 2010 he gave one of the newspaper's reporters permission to buy a pistol in Malmö in southern Sweden.
Authorization was granted in connection with the reporter's efforts to show how easy it was to obtain a firearm in Sweden.
"If journalists can't work under cover, investigative... (GunPolicy.org)
Finlande,Pays-Bas,Union Européenne,Suède
Murder in Finland, Sweden, Netherlands: Drunk Friends v Criminals - Study
6 October 2011
Helsingin Sanomat (Finland)
Finland rightly appears rather high on the statistics for violent crime in Europe, but as so often behind the statistical data there lie a number of caveats and a lot of small print.
There are, for instance, large differences between different EU nations when it comes to the reasons for homicides and the methods used in such crimes.
In Finland, a typical person to commit a homicide is a middle-aged heavy consumer of alcohol and the victim is his drunken contemporary.... (GunPolicy.org)
Norvège,Finlande,Danemark,Islande,Suède
Nordic Countries Set Sights on Stricter Gun Control after Norway Attacks
16 August 2011
Agence France Presse
STOCKHOLM — In the Nordic countries, where hunting is popular and firearms are plentiful, the twin July 22 attacks that killed 77 people in Norway have spurred lawmakers to consider tighter gun laws.
But change will not come without resistance in a region where hunting is viewed by many as a cultural heritage passed down from Viking ancestors, and sport shooting is a favourite pastime.
Finland, which has one of the world's highest gun ownership rates at 1.5 million... (GunPolicy.org)
Afrique du Sud,Brésil,Argentine,Australie,Mexique,États-Unis,Canada,Afrique,Suède,Océanie,Europe,Asie,Amérique
Canada Gun Lobby Influence on Foreign Policy: Arms Trade Treaty
3 August 2011
Embassy Magazine (Canada), Opinion
Canada has never been a strong supporter of international efforts to negotiate an effective Arms Trade Treaty. But in mid-July, it reversed its previous low-key but constructive role at the United Nations ATT preparatory meetings to become a potential treaty spoiler. All indications point to this change of heart arising from the domestic gun lobby's influence on Canadian foreign policy.
After years of preparation, member states of the United Nations will devote a month... (GunPolicy.org)
Calls to Tighten Sweden's Gun Law
26 July 2011
Sverige Radio (Sweden)
Following the terror attacks in Norway, the debate about gun ownership here in Sweden has intensified. The government had already appointed a commission to review existing gun laws and make recommendations, the results of which are expected in the autumn. Now though, as Sweden looks at what needs to be done to best defend itself against any similar sort of attack, both politicians and the media are paying greater attention to the issue.
Today there are two million... (GunPolicy.org)
Suède,Islande,Royaume-Uni,Norvège
Unsettling Wariness in Norway, Where Police Are Rarely Armed
25 July 2011
New York Times
OSLO — When a man dressed in a police uniform began slaughtering young people at a Norwegian summer camp last week, one of the first to be killed was a real police officer named Trond Berntsen, who for years had worked in security at the camp.
Whether Officer Berntsen tried to stop the gunman is still being debated. But facing a man carrying multiple guns and ample ammunition, there was little he could do. Like most other police officers here, he had no weapon.
By... (GunPolicy.org)
Sweden's Gun Laws Would Have Stopped Norway Killer: Police
25 July 2011
Local (Stockholm)
In Sweden, a person like Anders Behring Breivik wouldn't have been allowed an automatic weapon, according to Swedish police.
By law, licenses for automatic weapons can only be issued if there are extraordinary reasons. Among other things, the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) must justify the possession.
Breivik, the suspected mass murderer, wrote in his application that the reason he was applying for an automatic weapon license was to hunt deer.
"It wouldn't... (GunPolicy.org)
Venezuela,États-Unis,Amérique centrale,Norvège,Colombie,Amérique du Sud,Asie occidentale,Suède
Support for Arms Trade Treaty Grows as Norway, Sweden Fund SIPRI
26 January 2011
United Press International
WASHINGTON - Support for international efforts to secure an effective arms trade treaty has received boost with new European funds going into the work of leading think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Frenetic arms buying in Latin America in 2009 and last year led to diplomatic initiatives, including several from the Obama administration, to control a trend that critics said could turn into an arms race.
The arms buying was fueled partly by... (GunPolicy.org)
12 November 2010
Fokus (Sweden)
[Editor's note: Translated by GunPolicy.org from Swedish into English]
Few countries have more weapons per inhabitant than Sweden. But the legal weapons are rarely used in crime.
When the police on Saturday arrested the 38-year-old man suspected of murder and a series of assassination attempts in Malmö, they found two guns in his apartment. A 22-caliber practice gun and a Glock.
A sign that it's a madman? Rather something very Swedish.
In total, there are nearly... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed Gun Owner Charged in Swedish Hate Crime Shooting Spree
9 November 2010
Associated Press
STOCKHOLM — A Swedish man suspected of a yearlong shooting spree against immigrants in the southern part of the country was ordered held in jail Tuesday on preliminary charges of one murder and five attempted murders.
The suspect, identified in a court document as 38-year-old Peter Mangs, was arrested at his apartment in the city of Malmo over the weekend. Police said he denied the allegations.
Investigators have been searching for a lone gunman who has terrorized... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed Gun Owner Charged in Swedish Immigrant Shootings, Murder
7 November 2010
CNN
Swedish police have arrested a 38-year-old man suspected in a series of shootings targeting immigrants, they said Sunday.
"The man was arrested late Saturday night on suspicion of murder and attempted murder," lead prosecutor Solveig Wollstad said.
Eight people have been injured and a woman, 20, killed in the shootings which police believe are connected to the gunman, according to CNN's Swedish affiliate TV4.
The fatal shooting took place in October 2009, and the... (GunPolicy.org)
Serial Shooter Targets Immigrants: Swedish Police Confirm 15 Shootings
25 October 2010
Stockholm News (Sweden)
Today the police held a press conference about the search for the person, or perhaps persons, who shots at immigrants in Malmö.
As Stockholm News has reported, there have been several shootings against people with immigrant background in Malmö during the last year. But it was not until recently that the shootings were publically linked together and the pattern that all victims had immigrant background was analyzed. (This does of course not mean that the police had... (GunPolicy.org)
Swedish Penalties 'Don't Reflect Realities' of Modern Gun Crime - Police
21 October 2010
Local (Stockholm)
Police in Skåne in southern Sweden want to see tougher penalties for gun crimes in hopes of cutting down on the number of shootings in the region.
"It's unacceptable that people who are found with loaded weapons are released again after only one or two days," Per Lidehäll of the Skåne County police told the Skånska Dagbladet newspaper.
In 2010 alone, there have been more than 50 reported shootings in Malmö. The town remains on edge following an announcement by... (GunPolicy.org)
Nations Unies,Finlande,Nouvelle Zélande,États-Unis,Australie,Canada,France,Belgique,Suède,Suisse,Afrique du Sud,Autriche,Israël,Brésil,Allemagne
Comparison of Key Handgun Restrictions in 14 Industrialised Countries
25 September 2008
Economist
Finland's government is introducing tougher regulations on handguns following a mass shooting at a school on Tuesday September 23rd, the second in under a year.
The country had been among the most lenient in the world, allowing 15-year-olds to keep a handgun under parental supervision, requiring no medical or psychological tests and no minimum wait for those buying weapons.
The gun-death rate (whether murder, accident or suicide) in rich countries is highest where... (GunPolicy.org)
57 Firearms, Explosives Seized from Croatia-to-Sweden Gun Running Gang
25 May 2008
BBC Worldwide Monitoring / HINA, Transcript
Zagreb police cracked down on a ring of arms producers and smugglers, and charged nine persons with having specialised in producing arms and explosives and smuggling them to western Europe, notably Sweden, the head of the Zagreb police, Marijan Tomurad, said at a news conference on Saturday.
He stressed that the arms and bombs had been intended for clashed among underworld crime gangs and that the arms smugglers had no connections with any terrorist group.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
40 Handguns Seized at Swedish Border, 4 Men Arrested for Gun Running
22 January 2008
Local (Stockholm)
Four people have been indicted in Malmö on gun-running charges following the seizure last autumn of a major consignment of weapons.
Customs officials in Malmö found 40 semi-automatic weapons concealed in the seats of a car on October 10th last year.
The driver of the vehicle was pulled over after customs officials noticed him behaving in a nervous manner when crossing the border from Denmark to Sweden.
One of the driver's two passengers was also arrested. A woman... (GunPolicy.org)
Three Gun Crimes a Day in Sweden
6 September 2005
Local
Firearms are used in murders, attempted murders or robberies three times a day in Sweden, according to statistics from the National Police Board.
In 2004, police registered 1,187 such crimes involving guns, a similar figure to the previous two years, reported Göteborgs-Posten. But the difference is that the kind of weapon has changed.
"Before, there were a lot of shotguns — now it's all automatic weapons," said Per-Olof Johansson, a detective in the Gothenburg... (GunPolicy.org)
Homeowner Gets 2 Years Jail for Shooting Burglar
3 February 2005
Local / Dagens Nyheter
A man has been jailed for two years for shooting a trespasser on his property.
Monday's DN reported that a couple in Omberg in Östergötland had an unexpected visit from two thieves just before Christmas last year. One 20-year old and one 59-year old man from Motala had decided to break in to the house owned by the couple, who are in their sixties.
When the man heard them he fetched a shotgun and then shot the 20-year old man. He was seriously injured and taken to... (GunPolicy.org)