STOCKHOLM, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven commented on the overnight car burning incident that destroyed 100 vehicles, saying that frustration or injustice should not justify setting other peoples' cars on fire.
"I am pissed off. My question to you is: What are you up to? You destroy yourselves and your neighbors," the prime minister said to Swedish radio channel Ekot.
On Monday evening, around 100 cars were burned and damaged in the area of Gothenburg, 470 km west of Stockholm, the Swedish Television SVT reported on Tuesday.
Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson wrote in a Facebook post that Sweden had tolerated this kind of vandalism for too long and it had to stop. Last year, the penalty for severe damage was tightened in Sweden and vandalism such as car burning can lead to up to six years in prison.
According to officials and videos on social media, the deeds were carried out by groups of up to 10 masked youth, some of whom have now been identified.
"We have been talking to parents of the young people who were involved. The police chose not to arrest anyone on the spot, but instead we have concentrated on identifying them and talking with them," police press officer Ulla Brehm told SVT.
In addition to Gothenburg, cars were also burned and damaged in Stockholm, Malmo and Helsingborg, and Uppsala. The police has not confirmed whether the attacks are related to each other.
