Swedish 12-year-old boy is arrested on charges of contract murder

A 12-year-old Swedish boy committed a contract murder after being commissioned for an assassination. Swedish police and local media said on the 17th (local time) that a 12-year-old boy who committed the murder in Malmö, southern Sweden, was arrested.

The incident occurred in Malmö, southern Sweden, around 10:30 p.m. on the 12th (local time). A 21-year-old man was shot in the back seat while traveling in a vehicle with acquaintances and was taken to a hospital, but eventually died. The police, who later launched an investigation, identified a 12-year-old boy as a suspect and secured a new recruit on the 16th.

According to the police, the suspect was scheduled to receive 250,000 Swedish krona (about 39.9 million won) in return if the assassination request was successful. In addition to the incident, it is known that several murder requests have been received through social media. However, the boy mistook the wrong person for the target and killed him.

According to local media reports, the suspect is not detained under Swedish criminal law as a minor under the age of 15 and is currently staying in a social shelter. Prosecutor Caroline Calquist, however, said she was "a youngster considering the brutality and social repercussions of the crime, but decided to start the prosecution process exceptionally."

The boy has lived with his grandparents since the age of seven, and has been investigated several times by welfare authorities for parenting, including allegations of parental violence and abuse. Manne Gehrel, an associate professor of criminology at Lund University, pointed out that he was the youngest suspect in a shooting in Sweden.