Swedish teen rapper Einar shot dead outside apartment, police probing murder

One of the most prominent rappers in Sweden was shot dead in Southern Stockholm on Thursday. The death of the 19-year-old Einar has instigated public outrage over the nation's ongoing gang-related violence. The Swedish rapper Einar, whose name was Nils Kurt Erik Einar Gronberg, was shot many times outside an apartment building in Hammarby Sjöstad, a southern Stockholm neighbourhood, just before 11 p.m. on October 21. 

 A murder investigation has been initiated, and police are looking for at least two perpetrators. Authorities were notified about the occurrence at 10.50 p.m. on Thursday night, but paramedics could not revive the Swedish rapper, and he was declared dead at the site, according to police officers. As per the Guardian, a Stockholm police spokesperson, Ola Osterling informed the national news agency TT, “We are actively working to figure why it happened and who can be behind it.” 

The Swedish rapper Einar received death threats, abducted, tortured

Quoting an unnamed source, Swedish public broadcaster SVT revealed that the death was gang-related, and Einar was scheduled to testify in the coming week, about a case against the Vårby gang. Furthermore, in recent months, he has apparently received several death threats. According to the Guardian report, police said that they have been analysing CCTV footage from two security cameras, but did not give many details. Further, the Aftonbladet tabloid stated the rapper was shot numerous times in the chest from a range of roughly 1.5 metres. 

In 2019, Einar was the most streamed musician on Spotify in Sweden and recorded three chart-topping albums while also earning multiple Swedish Grammys and other honours. While, last April of 2020, members of the Vrby gang abducted, tortured, and blackmailed him for 3 million Swedish kronor after enlisting the assistance of a rival rapper, Haval Khalil, to bring him to an apartment in Stockholm.  

The very same group had attempted but failed to kidnap Einar in a Stockholm music studio a few weeks before, with the help of another rapper, Yasin, who became the hip-hop artist of the year in 2020 in Sweden, as an enticement. Khalil was convicted to two and a half years of jail for conspiring to commit an abduction in July 2021. Yasin was also sentenced to ten months in prison for kidnapping plot. Both dispute the allegations and want to appeal. 

After hearing the death of the young rapper, Sweden prime minister Stefan Lofven said, “It is a young life that has been lost, and I understand that he meant a lot to many young people. It’s tragic that another life has been lost,” the Metro reported.  

(Image: AP)