“Young people with walkie-talkies are hiding in the woods”

Of: Susanna nygren

Published: August 29, 2020 at 2.10 pm

ANGRY. Criminals patrol residential areas in northwest Gothenburg as if it were their own state. Unauthorized persons are observed and cars are controlled by masked men with weapons.

Despite the fact that residents of the area are used to a certain amount of crime, the events of this week have scared many.

– We don’t want to stay here anymore. It’s too much violence, says Omar, who lives in Lövgärdet.

On August 12 there is a shooting at a gas station in Bäckebolsvägen. The shots hit the cars and the building. But no person is hurt. According to information from Aftonbladet, the incident is the starting point for a growing war of positions between two criminal groups: Backagänget and the Ali Khan family network.

At the gas station, two young men from the family network have been shot by some with connections to Backagänget.

On August 20, what appears to be revenge. Shots from an automatic weapon are then fired at Akkas gata in Berga. A man is shot in the stomach and taken to hospital with serious injuries. According to Göteborgs Posten, it can be connected to Backagänget.

Three days later, a house in Fiskväderstorget is dotted with a large number of gunshots. The reason is unclear. But police information claims the shooting may be a warning against a serious offender.

The criminals took over the neighborhoods

Now feverish activity is starting among criminals in the Hjällbo and Lövgärdet areas. At a level that residents have never experienced before.

– The young people have stopped by the side of the road in our residential area and have checked the cars. An acquaintance of mine has been arrested. They looked inside his car, Sarah says.

Sarah and her sister Jennie grew up in Hjällbo. They are now 25 and have children of their own. They repeat that they love the area but admit that it has changed.

– When I was little, we didn’t know anything about crime. But today’s kids know it. You have to tell them so they can be on guard, Jennie says.

Neither Sara nor Jennie leave their children outside when it’s dark. So they stay inside too. They are also notably concerned about appearing in the newspaper: they don’t want to say their last names or appear in the picture.

Today Jennie and Sarah are dating some neighbors. They have coffee on a park bench by the woods.

“Young people hiding in the woods”

An old woman appears with a large plastic bag in her arms. She is on her way to the recycling station. A neighbor rushes to help. It opens the door to plastic recycling so that women can easily dispose of their cargo. And rewarded with a grateful smile.

A woman in her 50s explains that she loves Hjällbo, but in the last week something went wrong.

– I have seen how young people with walkie talkies hide in the forest. Sometimes they run out of the woods and are really watching, she says and gets support from Jennie.

– We were very nervous. We have never seen so many young people here at the same time, he says.

During the conversation, several cars approach and park on the street, a stone’s throw from the park benches. A neighbor says quietly that he is one of the leaders of the gang. We are watched.

– It is probably better that you go, says the neighbor.

A quarter of an hour later we are outside the Hjällbo shopping center. There are many people on the move. Small groups of young people hang out in the parking lot. Outside of Ica, people rush past on their way to commuter trains.

– How funny that journalists dare to come here, exclaims a young woman with a dog.

But you don’t want to say your name or stop for an interview.

Salman, 30, is sitting on a park bench. He has a six-year-old daughter. He is worried about what will happen when she starts school.

– The school here is very neglected. There are not many teachers who want to work in the area so the teaching is low. You really need to invest in the school.

He himself has seen young people selling drugs in the residential area.

– I think you have to start mixing people. It is better if both the workers and the unemployed live in one area. Many unemployed people in one place become breeding grounds for crime.

A couple of police cars drive through the mall with blue lights on. We decided to go back to the neighborhood where the criminals had a checkpoint.

There are two picket buses along the road. A police patrol is inside the property and a dog patrol has entered the forest. Curious residents look out onto their balconies.

After a while, the police return to their cars. Apparently empty-handed.

– It is a creative security measure. We have dogs and we look for the land. They can, for example, search for weapons and drugs, says Andreas Jonsson, a police assistant in Hjällbo.

Motorists stopped on the bridge

We continue to the Lövgärdet residential area in Angered. Even there, it should have been reduced to criminal activity this week.

A young man, who wishes to remain anonymous, says there were several men on the bridge on their way to the area. They searched vehicles.

– They were standing there when I came driving but they didn’t stop me. They recognized me. They’re just looking to make sure no one from Backagänget drives here.

In the downtown parking lot, we meet Omar, 30, with his wife and daughter. They have lived in Lövgärdet for 10 years.

– It’s not okay here. We are trying to find an apartment elsewhere, says Omar.

You often see the police circulating in the area, but you don’t feel they intervene as often.

– They should get criminals off the street. The law should be changed so that more people can be jailed, says Omar.

His wife Ola feels unsafe in the area.

– I stay home and close the door, he says.

Tougher than motorcycle gangs

After last week’s turbulence among criminals, Gothenburg Police Chief Erik Nord has decided on a special event.

It confirms that the groups have had barricades in both Hjällbo and Lövgärdet. In several cases, the motorists must have been greeted by masked and armed people.

– On several occasions, people have stopped vehicles entering the area. They have gotten in the way and blocked it with their bodies.

During the week, police also had to withdraw after 16 criminals, some masked and wearing bulletproof vests, sat in the hotel bar on Clarion Post. Erik Nord believes that there may have been a mediation situation in the ongoing conflict. But he is critical of the choice of venue.

– Describes his indifference towards others and his image that we put ourselves above what is applied in society.

Not even the most die-hard motorcycle gangs have behaved like this, says Erik Nord. They met in separate places.

– This is the first time I’ve seen you do that.

Lisa Pedersen, Angered’s head of security, is also surprised by this week’s development. She has participated in testimonies from neighbors who have experienced that criminals have seized her.

– It was awkward going out. Another environment that you have not experienced before. And then the residents here are still used to dealing with crime.

The municipality has had to deploy guards so that staff working in the areas feel safe. Lisa Pedersen is honestly self-critical and explains that the long-term work the municipality has done to prevent crime has not been enough. Much more needs to be done.

– Our greatest hope is that, after this week, the neighbors will feel that Angered has returned to be their place.

Published: August 29, 2020 at 2.10 pm