| Gothenburg car bombing | |
| Location: | Gothenburg, Sweden |
| Date: | 12 June 2015 |
| Type: | Car bombing |
| Fatalities: | 4 |
On 12 June 2015, four people, including a 4-year-old girl, were killed in a car bombing in Gothenburg, Sweden.[1] [2] The bombing was seen as part of the gang conflicts in the city, as at least one of the victims was a known gang leader.[3] [4]
On Friday evening, 12 June around 17:00 CEST, a car exploded near a roundabout in Torslanda, Gothenburg.[1] [5] Roads were thereafter closed off, and several witnesses who were in a state of shock were taken care of in the local church in Amhult.
A pre-school child reported to have been one of four killed in the bombing was identified as a 4-year-old girl.[2] The girl was reportedly off on the Friday to go fishing with her father, a 29-year-old who also died in the bombing.[1] The car bombing took place amid an increase of homicides in Sweden, which was described as being "in an extreme situation" compared to other Nordic countries.[6] [7]
The attack was seen in the context of retaliatory revenge killings in Gothenburg in recent years.[8] [9] The bombing was in October 2015 changed to be investigated as suspected murder, after it was believed that a bomb had been deliberately placed in the car by people other than those present.[10] All three men were confirmed by police to have been connected to gang conflicts in the city.[4] A 32-year-old man who died in the bombing was confirmed to have been a known Gothenburg gang leader.[11] [10]
A person aged in the 20s was arrested in January 2016, suspected of complicity to the bombing.[5]