A Swedish rapper has been shot and killed just one year after getting kidnapped by a rival gang — and his death has sparked a larger conversation in the country about its burgeoning gang problem.
CNN is reporting that the Swedish rapper Einar — whose real name is Nils Gronberg — was found shot to death in an upscale district in Stockholm called Hammarby Sjostad. Einar’s death came just one year after he was kidnapped and assaulted by a rival rap gang.
“A young life has been extinguished, and I understand that he meant a lot to many young people. It is tragic,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told TT, Sweden’s national news agency.
Though relatively unknown on American shores, the Swedish rapper was one of the most popular in Scandinavia. Einar had tens of millions of streams on music platforms and won several Swedish Grammys and other awards.
“The limits of what can be accepted in a civilized country have been passed a very long time ago,” wrote Johan Forsell, a member of Sweden’s Moderates Party, on Twitter. “We need action not words to turn the tide and get Sweden in order.”
Thus far, no arrests have been made in Einar’s death.