At around 5 p.m. on April 29 last year, police were called to reports of gunfire near Vaksala Square in Uppsala. Inside a barbershop, three people – two teenage boys, aged 15 and 16, and a 20-year-old man – were found shot to death.
The incident has been described as a pure execution. The victims were found huddled in a corner.
Possible "misfire"
Information from the investigation suggests that two other men who were shot outside the salon may have been the actual targets. One of them fled into the salon and took cover in a restroom, whereupon the shooter followed and shot three other people inside the premises.
The investigation has not been able to answer whether these three were the ones the "mission" was aimed at. But some say it was not that way, says prosecutor Andreas Nyberg.
Relatives of the 16-year-old, who had no criminal connections, have said in interviews that he was at the salon to get a haircut and make himself look good for Walpurgis the following day.
Nyberg describes the murders as "cold-blooded and cynical," saying the 21-year-old took it upon himself to carry out the crimes in exchange for payment.
He shot eleven times, many of which struck the heads of the victims.
No one who ordered the murder has been prosecuted.
The 21-year-old has denied involvement, but according to the court it is clear that he took it upon himself to carry out the shooting for payment. Among other things, the police have found a note in which he wrote that he "promises" to do his best as a "stepper" and to "run over everyone" to get money.
Shots in Eslöv
The man was also convicted of attempted murder of two men in Eslöv, who were seriously injured by gunshots two weeks before the triple murder.
"The crimes he is convicted of are particularly brutal and have led to the deaths of three young people. The crimes have affected the lives of a large number of people, not least the relatives of those killed," says the court's chairman, Daniel Gustavsson, in a press release.
The 21-year-old must also pay damages of just over 3.4 million kronor to the relatives and other victims.
Two other people were sentenced for the events in Uppsala. An 18-year-old man, who was 17 at the time of the incident, was sentenced to just over seven years in prison for aiding and abetting. A 26-year-old was sentenced to four years and ten months in prison for aggravated protection of a criminal and aggravated weapons offense.
Two other men who were charged with aiding and abetting were acquitted.
