Analysis · 7 min read
The shootings that stopped — and what still explodes
Fatal shootings halved between 2022 and 2025. Bomb attacks are declining from the record year 2023. What lies behind — and what remains?
Published 2026-07-15
The turn 2023 → 2025
Brå statistics: 62 people died in shootings in 2022 (peak year). 2023: 53. 2024: 44. 2025 (full year): 31. A halving in three years.
Total shootings: 391 (2022) → 363 (2023) → 296 (2024) → 233 (2025). The decline is clearest in Stockholm County and the West Region.
Bomb attacks — different curve
Brå: 90 bomb attacks in 2022, 149 (record) in 2023, 138 (2024), 96 (2025). Bomb attacks trail the shooting decline by about two years.
Police analyses indicate that explosions are partly a substitute when firearms access is restricted — and that the method is used in extortion cases against legitimate business owners.
What explains the decline?
Operational measures: The police have deployed around 4,400 personnel to the National Response Unit's dedicated gang-suppression assignment since late 2023. Remand capacity increased by 900 places in 2023–2025.
Legislation: Preventive coercive measures (2023), doubled sentencing for gang criminals (2024), stop-and-search zones (2024), anonymous witnesses (fully implemented 2025).
External pressure: The decline in shootings coincides with Swedish gang leaders (Kurdiska räven, Rawa Majid and others) being restricted in their operating space via international cooperation.
What remains
The recruitment of youths (under 18) into criminal networks continues at high levels. Brå's 2025 youth survey shows 8.6% of 9th-grade boys report being recruited to commit crime for payment — the highest reading since measurement began.
Segregation is intact: 61 particularly vulnerable and vulnerable areas (police assessment 2024) — the same number as in 2019. The shooting decline has thus happened without changing the underlying social geography.