Gangs of various kinds – organized crime gangs, immigrant gangs and biker gangs like Hells Angels and Bandidos – have increased their strength and visibility in Denmark over the last few years. Recently, as more or less open war between biker gangs and immigrant gangs has been waging. Along with it, there has been a rapid rise in the number of shootings in the once peaceful little kingdom, especially in Copenhagen (see also msnbc).
In a recent act of violence in Copenhagen, reported in Politiken, two masked men forced a man outside a café to lie on the pavement after which the door to the café was opened and some ten shots were fired into the premises, hitting three people, one of whom died.
“First they stopped one man outside and forced him onto the ground at gunpoint, after which one of the men opened the door to the café and shot about ten times hitting three people, one of whom died. Afterwards, they briefly discussed whether to kill the man on the pavement before shooting him in the knee and buttock before making off,” the head of the Copenhagen Police Special Unit for Gang Crime Henrik Svindt tells Ritzau.
According to Politiken, the current gang war between bikers and immigrant gangs has prompted the Copenhagen police to set up a dedicated 35-man task force to attempt to stop open-street attacks. So far, little seems to have been achieved by the police. It seems that the number of members of gangs is increasing. According to some reports, there are now 1.500 individuals in these groups.
And biker gangs have now more or less taken over the Nørregård part of Copenhagen. Rescue personnel are now afraid of going into this area:
Inhabitants at the Mjølnerparken Estate in the Nørrebro district have complained that a medical ambulance waited up to ten minutes before attending to a victim. The ambulance waited until police arrived and secured the area.
“The situation is untenable and unacceptable and people are shooting at random. We need extraordinary steps – and that is what we are now taking,” says Justice Minister Brian Mikkelsen.
It is strange to witness how violent gangs can gain so much power in a civilized and peaceful country like Denmark. This development, along with some of the more recent ethnic based clashes in Sweden and Norway, clearly indicates that the Scandinavian model for dealing with immigration and integration may have been much less successful than previously assumed.
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