A teenager has died after being shot in the southern suburbs of Stockholm – one of a spate of shootings in the country across the last week. Police received were called after loud bangs were heard in Vastertorp at around 8pm local time on Thursday, with the injured boy – whose age was not given – taken to hospital before dying of his wounds overnight. The other shootings include four in the university city of Uppsala – two of them fatal – and two others in Stockholm, where a 13-year-old teenager lost his life. Stockholm police said they were still seeking a suspect. “I don't have a clear answer as to whether this is connected to other murders recently, but it is something we are investigating,” said spokesman Towe Hagg. Sweden has faced an increase in recent years which police and authorities blame on criminal gangs fighting over arms and drug trafficking, using guns and explosive devices.. Earlier this week, the national police chief, Anders Thornberg told a press conference, that this wave of violence had reached an "unprecedented" level. “There have recently been after on an unprecedented scale,” Mr Thornberg said. “Several boys aged between 13 and 15 have been killed, the mother of a criminal was executed at home, and a young man in Uppsala was shot dead on his way to work,” he added. “Citizens are afraid, insecurity is increasing. And this at a time when we have raised our terrorist alert level in the country,” Mr Thornberg said. A number of crimes by gangs had been foiled in recent days, the police chief added, saying that such preventative work was key. “Several people have been arrested and weapons confiscated in Uppsala alone, where the situation is very serious,” Ulf Johansson, a police officer in the region, about 40 miles (65km) north of Stockholm. Up until the end of August this year – so not including the recent spate of incidents – there were 247 shootings across Sweden, according to national statistics. Those led to 30 deaths. Seventy-six of those incidents occurred around the region of Stockholm. In 2022, 62 people were killed in 391 shootings across the country, with 128 of those incidents around the Stockholm region. When announcing those statistics in December, the justice minister, Gunnar Strommer, called it a modern-day record. "Deadly gun violence has increased and unfortunately has hit a new, bloody record this year," he said. Mr Strommer said at the time that those 62 deaths compared to four in Norway, four in Denmark and two in Finland. In 2021, 45 people were shot dead in Sweden. In 2012, the total was 17 Also last year, there were 90 explosions and 101 attempted explosive attacks were recorded, according to the data. So far this year, more than 100 explosions have already been recorded. Sweden has gone from having one of the lowest incidences of gang violence to one of the highest over the last 20 years, according to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, with the current government vowing to crackdown on gang crime. Read More Nobel Foundation raises the amount for this year’s Nobel Prize awards to 11 million kronor Things to know about Sweden's monarchy as King Carl XVI celebrates 50 years on the throne Sweden's figurehead king celebrates 50 years on the throne On the brink of joining NATO, Sweden seeks to boost its defense spending by 28% Sweden brings more books and handwriting practice back to its tech-heavy schools Trial starts in Sweden of 2 oil executives accused of complicity in war crimes in Sudan

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A famous drag show restaurant has filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida and Governor Ron DeSantis, claiming a bill that prohibits children’s attendance at drag shows has hurt its business and is a violation of the First Amendment. Hamburger Mary’s Orlando, a franchise location of the drag show restaurant chain Hamburger Mary’s, is alleging that the state of Florida, “Seeks to explicitly restrict or chill speech and expression protected by the First Amendment” in a lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida on Monday. The lawsuit pertains to SB 1438, nicknamed the Protection of Children, which allows for criminal penalties against a food service establishment for admitting children to “an adult live performance.” The bill, which was signed into law by Mr DeSantis last week, prohibits children from attending adult live performances or the establishment can face fines, have their license suspended or revoked and their liquor license suspended or revoked. Hamburger Mary’s Orlando offers “family friendly” drag performances on Sundays, which they say have been greatly affected by the passage of SB 1438. “This bill has nothing to do with children, and everything to do with the continued oppression of the LGBTQ+ community,” Hamburger Mary’s Orlando wrote in a Facebook post. In the lawsuit, Hamburger Mary’s Orlando said “immediately” after the bill passed, 20 per cent of their bookings were cancelled for the 21 May 2023 show as well as future bookings despite the performances being “family friendly.” Hamburger Mary’s Orlando is alleging in the lawsuit that the bill does not serve a compelling governmental interest and is too vague, thus violating the restaurant’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression. “The law and anticipation of it has had a chilling effect on free speech in Florida,” the lawsuit says. The lawsuit names Mr DeSantis, the state of Florida, as well as Melanie Griffin, the Secretary of the State Department of Business and Professional Regulation for Florida, as defendants. The recent Protection of Children bill defines “adult live performance” as any presentation in front of a live audience where a part of it depicts sexual activity, sexual conduct, nudity, lewd exposure, lewd conduct, prosthetic or imitation genitals and more. Hamburger Mary’s Orlando claims, “There is no lewd activity, sexually explicit shows, disorderly conduct, public exposure, obscene exhibition, or anything inappropriate for a child to see” in their family-friendly brunches. The restaurant claims several undercover agents visited a drag brunch in December and did not witness “any lewd acts” that were inappropriate for children. Hamburger Mary’s Orlando is also alleging that the state of Florida has not provided examples of specific conduct that is harmful to children. “The uncertainty about what specific conduct this law prohibits, as well as the threat of police surveillance and criminal charges, is precisely what concerns the Plaintiff in this case,” the lawsuit says. Instead, Hamburger Mary’s Orlando believes this is another example of conservative leaders trying to restrict LGBT+ inclusivity in communities. “Anytime our legislators want to demonize a group, they say they are coming for your children. In this case, creating a false narrative that drag queens are grooming and recruiting your children with no factual basis or history to back up these accusations AT ALL,” Hamburger Mary’s Orlando wrote on Facebook. “They are setting a precedent that the state legislators [sic] can decide what is best for you based on THEIR own values and convictions, and write it into law,” Hamburger Mary’s Orlando added. The Independent has reached out to Hamburger Mary’s Orlando and Mr DeSantis’ office for comment. Read More Why are drag shows being targeted by the state of Tennessee and other republicans? Tampa Pride event cancelled over Ron DeSantis’ latest anti-LGBT+ laws Pride events cancelled across Florida due to ‘climate of fear’ after DeSantis’s anti-LGBT+ laws A famous restaurant chain has sued Florida over DeSantis’s drag ban Florida school bans poem recited by Amanda Gorman at Biden inauguration AP News Digest 3:10 am

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