Stockholm riots spread to districts after fatal police shooting

A car set on fire burns, following riots in the Stockholm suburb of Kista (Reuters)

Gangs of youths have smashed shop windows, set cars ablaze and burnt down a cultural center as riots that started in one Stockholm suburb after a fatal police shooting spread to other low-income areas of the Swedish capital.

Police said seven people were briefly detained and one person was arrested on suspicion of arson of a cultural centre housed in a 19th century building.

A spokesman said 30 vehicles were set on fire in six suburbs where mainly immigrants live. Gangs of up to 60 youths also set fire to a school and a nursery and hurled rocks at police and fire fighters.

The unrest began on Sunday in response to the May 13 shooting, in which police killed a 69-year-old, knife-wielding man in a north-western suburb.

AP