Ministers criticize social worker's massage proposal after Gävle shooting
Two ministers have sharply criticized a social services manager in Gävle for suggesting massage and football shoes as alternatives to tougher measures against gang crime. The criticism follows a shooting where six people were injured and a 13-year-old is suspected. The social committee decided to take the boy into custody less than four hours before the incident.
Six people were shot and injured in a shooting on Södra Kungsgatan in Gävle in the early hours of Saturday, which police link to gang crime. The suspect is a 13-year-old boy who was on the radar of social services and police at the time. On Friday evening, the boy was supposed to be home by 6 p.m., but his parents called the police at 7:30 p.m., prompting a search operation.
Lena Rörick Lundgren (S), first deputy chair of the social committee, confirms that the committee decided to take the boy into custody under LVU around 10 p.m., about ten minutes after a call from the social emergency service. "At around 10 p.m., I make the decision to take him into custody under LVU," she tells SVT. A placement was found at 11:42 p.m. in a locked SIS home, but police were still searching for the boy. Rörick Lundgren learned of the shooting the next morning and felt "chilled to the bone," but relieved that the process had been handled correctly. "We did what we could," she adds.
On Monday, social services unit manager Anna Bakken Krantze was interviewed by TV4, where she suggested more resources for alternatives like gym memberships, football shoes, dining out, and massages for tired parents. "We would need funds to offer alternatives. Buy gym cards, buy a pair of football shoes, go out to eat, give a massage to some tired mom or dad," she said.
The proposal drew criticism from social services minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M) and education and integration minister Simona Mohamsson (L). Grönvall posted on X: "When a 13-year-old shoots six people, it's not about massage and football shoes. Social services, school, and police must figure out who knew what – why this wasn't stopped." Mohamsson added: "Social workers must stop fantasizing about massaging gang criminals' mothers" and called for "rock-hard work" with modern prevention instead of "old coddling."