Just a few days ago, our paper on 19 cases of homicide and attempted homicide in Sweden was published in the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology.
Those interested are more than welcome to read our study. I would greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts on it.
In this brief commentary, I want to underscore a particularly fascinating finding from our research, conducted in Sweden. It is evident that knives or other sharp weapons represent the most frequently used type of weapon, accounting for 52.6% of all cases. Surprisingly, firearms were used in 36.8% of all instances. This figure is exceptionally high for Sweden, substantially exceeding both its neighboring countries and the rest of Western Europe. The equivalent statistic for Norway is between 19-21%, while in Denmark it ranges from 0.4-19%. Finland reports a 16% rate and the Netherlands is close to 35%. For other Western European nations such as the UK, France, and Germany, the percentage of homicides involving firearms is near 19%.
This stark comparison demonstrates an alarmingly high frequency of firearm use in Swedish homicide and attempted homicide cases, which is deeply concerning.