In a motion, Moderate Member of Parliament Jan Ericson is asking the parliament to support the legalization of the possession and use of pepper spray. Ericson believes that society has let down its citizens, and the benefits of allowing Swedes to possess pepper spray outweigh any potential risks.
“Many girls and women feel an increased sense of insecurity in our society. More and more people are taking self-defense courses, and many use alarms and other measures to defend themselves against attacks. At the same time, there is a very effective means of defense against attacks that is not allowed – pepper spray”, he writes, among other things.
Ericson points out that in a society that “has let people down by not forcefully acting against insecurity”, it is also “reasonable to allow people to use pepper spray”.
“Therefore, it should be considered whether the prohibition against possessing and using pepper spray should be lifted. The benefit of an individual experiencing increased security should be valued higher than the potential risks of lifting the ban”.
This is not the first time Ericson has made a motion about pepper spray – as early as 2017, he wanted sales of the spray to be allowed, primarily due to the growing number of rapes and sexual assaults that have dramatically increased in Sweden.
Currently, anyone found in possession of pepper spray risks being convicted of a weapons offense, which could theoretically result in a prison sentence.
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Four people are being treated in hospital, two with life-threatening injuries, after an extensive knife fight at Österportskolan in Malmö, Sweden during the night leading to Saturday.
Eight suspected perpetrators have been arrested and police are investigating the incident as attempted murder.
Shortly after midnight, police were alerted that around 20 people were involved in a large fight on the grounds of Österportskolan in the southern Swedish city of Malmö.
— There was stabbing with knives left and right so four people are in hospital with knife wounds, two of whom are seriously injured, says Michael Lindh, duty commander at police region South, to TT (Swedish news agency).
When police arrived, only a few people remained at the scene, including a stabbed man in his 20s who was taken to hospital by ambulance.
— One person was taken to hospital in an ambulance and three in a private car, explains Filip Annas, press spokesperson for police region South, to Schibsted-owned TV4 Nyheterna.
“More may be involved”
A total of eight people have been arrested, including the four being treated in hospital.
One of those arrested is 15 years old, the others are between 20-25 years old. The incident is classified as attempted murder.
— It cannot be ruled out that more may be involved, states Filip Annas.
The area has been cordoned off for technical investigation. Police have conducted door-to-door inquiries in the area and held witness interviews. More interviews are expected to be held in the coming days.
Politicians and media promised that mass immigration would make Sandviken, Sweden into an economic success story. Ten years later, reality is much bleaker: half the city is now classified as an exclusion area and compared to notorious problem suburbs like Rinkeby and Tjärna Ängar.
In 2014, left-liberal media, led by the Bonnier-owned Dagens Nyheter (Sweden’s largest daily newspaper), trumpeted that mass migration to Sandviken was a gigantic profitable venture that would make the entire municipality economically prosperous.
“Earns over half a billion from immigration”, read DN’s headline, claiming that each immigrant resident would generate €13,000 annually in revenue for the municipality.
The claims were based on figures in a report by auditing firm PwC and had been commissioned by the municipality itself.
Mass immigration was supposed to be a success for Sandviken. Photo: facsimile/DN
However, the optimistic calculations were based on fantasies and wishful thinking, and within just a couple of years it became clear that the municipality’s financial situation had instead become severely strained – with a budget deficit of €6 million.
— It was a fantasy scenario that was painted. The report was flawed from the beginning. How could anyone stand behind it?wondered Moderate Party opposition councilor Jonny Bratberg in 2019.
“White flight”
And since then, the situation has hardly improved. No billion-euro profits from mass immigration have materialized. Instead, the Swedish government now classifies half of Sandviken as an “exclusion area” – on the same list as notorious immigrant-dense and crime-ridden suburbs like Rinkeby (in Stockholm), Tjärna Ängar in Borlänge, and Gottsunda in Uppsala.
Surveillance cameras now sit on almost every street corner, and Emma Holmqvist, a segregation researcher at Uppsala University, notes that a large portion of the ethnically Swedish population has fled from immigrant-dense parts of Sandviken – and that other Swedes avoid moving there.
— ‘White flight, white avoidance’ is what we call it, says Emma Holmqvist.
— In long-term studies we can see that those with high incomes are partly driving spirals of segregation. They have housing choices that low-income earners lack. They can move away from an area with rental apartments and negative development, simply by purchasing housing.
Swedes don’t want to live with immigrants
She emphasizes, however, that people – regardless of group affiliation – tend to want to live near people who are like themselves, and that this applies to both families with children and high-income earners.
— But one thing that stands out is that many with immigrant backgrounds tend to want to live with more Swedes – the opposite rarely applies to native-born Swedes, she notes.
That Swedes in Sandviken don’t want to live together with immigrants is pointed out as a major and acute problem that must be solved by politicians – for example, by building more rental apartments in villa neighborhoods.
Children as integration tools
The municipality’s politicians have previously attracted attention in connection with a heavily criticized integration initiative where they made the decision to forcibly relocate mainly Swedish children from villa areas to an immigrant-dense, low-performing school in an exclusion area.
The decision enraged many parents and was described as a kind of “social experiment,” where children were involuntarily made into tools in politicians’ integration policy project.
— This is some form of Social Democratic wet dream, where you mix up the students in yet another integration project. You take an A-school and exchange half the students with a D-school, and then you get two C-schools instead – so everyone becomes satisfied and happy. It’s completely insane, of course, commented Jonny Bratberg on the matter in Tidningen Näringslivet (a Swedish business publication).
A 23-year-old immigrant has been remanded in custody after attacking and stabbing a young Irish police officer in broad daylight in central Dublin. The attack, which was caught on film, occurred completely unprovoked while the police were on patrol on Tuesday.
The perpetrator, Abdullah Khan, was arrested at the scene after the brutal assault that took place on Capel Street in central Dublin on Tuesday afternoon around 6 PM. The attacked officer, a young trainee who was on high-visibility patrol with a colleague, was treated at hospital for injuries that miraculously were not life-threatening.
Abdullah, a second-generation immigrant born in Ireland with an address in north Dublin, is accused of assault and possession of a so-called Tactix knife.
At Thursday’s remand hearing at Dublin District Court, the 23-year-old man made no application for bail and sat silently through the entire brief hearing.
Shocking new footage of yesterday’s attack on a Garda in Dublin.
The attacker is a second generation immigrant named Abdullah Kahn.
The attack is described by authorities as completely unprovoked and took place in the city center while police were carrying out their regular duties. Suddenly Abdullah appears on the street with the knife in his hand as the incident is caught on film. He goes directly on the attack from behind against the young police officer and attempts to stab him with the knife toward the kidney area of his back.
Miraculously, he strikes poorly with the knife and the two police officers manage to regain their composure and after a struggle with tear gas and batons, disarm and arrest the man.
The injured officer has since been discharged from hospital.
— This evening’s unprovoked assault is indicative of what gardaí (police) can face when they go out on duty to keep people safe, said Assistant Commissioner Paul Cleary to the Roscommon Herald.
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin condemned the incident and described it as “shocking.” Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan and opposition leader Mary Lou McDonald also expressed their condemnation of the unprovoked violence.
Abdullah is next due to appear before Cloverhill District Court on August 6 pending directions from prosecutors.
A wave of well-planned home burglaries has swept across southern Sweden during July. Swedish police suspect that organized gangs are behind the crimes and are now urging the public to increase vigilance.
During July, Sweden has been hit by an unusually extensive wave of home burglaries with between 45 and 50 reported cases. The crimes are spread across the West, South and East police regions, and most of the break-ins have been carried out in a similar manner, leading police to suspect that an organized gang is behind them.
The perpetrators have often gained entry by lifting out entire window frames. They have then hung up sheets indoors to conceal their presence, sorted stolen goods on beds and focused on taking jewelry and cash.
Break-ins where windows are lifted out is a well-known method, which often occurs in residential villa areas. Similar shoe prints left at multiple locations strengthen suspicions that the same group may be behind a large number of the crimes.
Polisen uppmanar till vaksamhet efter stort antal villainbrott: Under juli månad har närmare 50 villainbrott utförts i polisregionerna Väst, Syd och Öst. I de flesta fallen h https://t.co/hCSSOcTMLY
— Polisen nationellt (@Polisen_Sverige) July 30, 2025
Professional gangs
Swedish police assess that these are professional perpetrators with good knowledge of alarms and locking devices. At least two people have likely participated in each break-in. In some cases, the properties have been surveilled in advance, indicating that the crimes were carefully planned.
– These are professional and organized gangs behind these crimes. We believe that at least two perpetrators were involved in each break-in. And in some cases we suspect they visited the locations and conducted surveillance some time before the actual break-in, says Lina Carlshamre, crime analyst at the crime coordination unit in the West police region, in a press release.
In response to this development, Swedish police have strengthened cooperation between the affected regions. The authorities are now urging villa owners to be extra vigilant – especially during vacation periods when many homes stand empty.
They emphasize the importance of maintaining contact with neighbors and reporting suspicious behavior. According to crime analysts, the motto is: better once too often than once too little.
Despite the fact that the number of residential burglaries has decreased somewhat in the country in recent years, July’s statistics show that the threat to villa owners remains.
