Swedish police detain 16-year-old murder suspect in Uppsala shooting

Three people were shot dead in the city of Uppsala on Tuesday.

Copenhagen: A 16-year-old person was detained early on Wednesday on suspicion of murdering three people in a hair salon in the Swedish city of Uppsala, Swedish prosecutors said.

Three people were shot dead late on Tuesday afternoon just as Uppsala, a university town some 40 minutes north of Stockholm, was gearing up for Walpurgis Night, one of the busiest holidays in the city.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority said a 16-year old was detained on suspicion of murder, on the highest level of suspicion in the Swedish legal system.

"An intensive investigation is underway. We are now gathering information and the police are conducting door-to-door inquiries and interviewing witnesses," the authority said in a statement. "In addition, mobile phones and other material that has been seized are being analysed."

Police told a news conference that it was too early to say if the shooting was gang related, but that it was one of the theories they were pursuing "particularly intensively."

Sweden has suffered from a wave of gang-related violence for more than a decade that has included an epidemic of gun violence.

Court documents, heavily redacted due to the suspect's young age, showed a person had been arrested on Wednesday, just after midnight. The court-appointed lawyer for the suspect did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Police said the incident was believed to be "an isolated event" and not linked to the extensive celebrations expected for Walpurgis Night, a festive occasion where families and students gather around bonfires to celebrate spring.