Riot follows Trump’s false crime claim
SWEDEN: Just two days after United States President Donald Trump provoked widespread consternation by seeming to imply, incorrectly, that immigrants had perpetrated a recent spate of violence in Sweden, riots broke out in a predominantly immigrant neighbourhood in the northern suburbs of Stockholm.
Swedish police apparently made an arrest near the metro station in Rinkeby, which saw riots in 2010 and 2013 as well. For reasons not yet disclosed by the police, word of the arrest prompted a crowd of youths to gather. Over four hours, the crowd burned about half a dozen cars, vandalised several shopfronts and threw rocks at police.
Police spokesman Lars Bystrom confirmed to Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter newspaper that an officer had fired shots with intention to hit a rioter, but did not strike his target.
A photographer for the newspaper was attacked by more than a dozen men and his camera was stolen, but no-one was ultimately hurt or arrested.
In 2015, when the influx of refugees and migrants to Europe from Africa, the Middle East and Asia was highest, Sweden took in the greatest number per capita. By and large, integration has been a success story there, save for incidents like the Rinkeby riots, which have taken place in highly segregated neighbourhoods.
Dagens Nyheter analysed crime statistics between October 2015 and January 2016 and came to the conclusion that refugees were responsible for only 1 per cent of all incidents.
The two Swedish police officers whose interview provided the basis for the Fox News report on which Trump based his claim have spoken out, claiming their testimony was taken out of context. One of them, Anders Granzon, said the interview had been about areas with high crime rates and ‘‘there wasn’t any focus on migration or immigration’’.
- Washington Post