Sweden: Police seek tenant as suspect in building explosion
Swedish police say they are seeking a man in connection with an explosion and fire at a large apartment building that injured 16 people, four of them seriously
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Swedish police said Thursday they are seeking a man in connection with an explosion and fire at a large apartment building this week that injured 16 people, four of them seriously.
The man is wanted on suspicion of public destruction but not been located yet, police said. Authorities did not name him, but Swedish media reported that the suspect was a man in his 50s who had lived with his mother in the building in Goteborg, Sweden s second-largest city.
The property owner had been trying to evict the man and his mother from their apartment, according to daily newspaper Aftonbladet. The local Goteborg-Posten newspaper said an eviction was planned for Tuesday, the day the explosion occurred.
Aftonbladet said police had charged the man with several alleged crimes a week before the blast. The paper also reported that after he was was not allowed to see his mother at a nursing home due to pandemic restrictions, the suspect harassed several people, including the owner of the building.
The explosion rocked the building in central Goteborg early Tuesday. Ensuing blazes spread to several apartments, and hundreds of residents were evacuated. At least 140 apartments were damaged.
One of the four people seriously injured remained in intensive care Wednesday, Goteborg’s main hospital told Swedish broadcaster SVT
Swedish media had quickly had focused on the possibility that the explosion could be related to feuding gangs. Sweden has seen a rise in violence between organized criminal gangs.
Police and prosecutors said Thursday that “at present, there is no indication that the blast has links to gang crime.”