Under 15 And Hired To Kill: How Teen Girls Are Taking Deadly Roles In Sweden's Gang Wars

Last Updated:September 06, 2025, 18:08 IST

With gang-related shootings and bombings now a near-daily occurrence in Sweden, crime groups are increasingly turning to children

Some gang leaders are believed to be operating from abroad, directing crimes through encrypted platforms, where hits and violent jobs are posted and assigned. (Getty Images via AFP)

Teenage girls, some under the age of 15, are being recruited to carry out violent crimes in Sweden’s escalating gang wars, according to prosecutors and experts.

Stockholm prosecutor Ida Arnell recently handled a case involving a 15-year-old girl who was offered a choice: shoot at a door or aim directly at a man’s head. She chose the latter. While it was her 17-year-old male accomplice who pulled the trigger, the victim was left critically injured after being shot in the neck, stomach and legs.

Arnell said many girls are now offering themselves to criminal gangs on encrypted messaging apps, hoping to prove they are tougher and more ruthless than boys.

“They have to show that they are even more determined and tougher (than boys) to get the job," she told AFP.

In 2023, 280 girls aged 15 to 17 were charged with violent crimes, including murder and manslaughter. While not all are linked to organised crime, experts warn that girls’ involvement in gang activity has been underestimated for years, a blind spot that has benefitted criminal networks and put girls at serious risk.

With gang-related shootings and bombings now a near-daily occurrence in Sweden, crime groups are increasingly turning to children under 15 — below the age of criminal responsibility — to carry out attacks. Some gang leaders are believed to be operating from abroad, directing crimes through encrypted platforms, where hits and violent jobs are posted and assigned.

Sweden’s Justice Minister, Gunnar Strömmer, admitted in April that more research is needed to understand how girls are involved in gangs. “Girls are often identified as victims… but their participation in criminal circles is much more widespread than what we have long assumed," he said.

One study by a women’s drug and alcohol support network found that many of these girls suffer from untreated trauma and addiction, with two-thirds of those involved in drug crimes also victims of sexual violence.

Sweden’s Council for Crime Prevention is currently carrying out a detailed study into the types of crimes committed by girls and women, as well as the violence they often experience. The findings are expected to be released in October.

(With inputs from AFP)

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