European authorities investigate escalating gang violence and localized crimes

Nexus Europa Newsroom
Posted Oct 13, 2026, 05:00 AM UTC · In the digest of 2026-10-13-0500
European authorities investigate escalating gang violence and localized crimes
Photo: El Mundo

European law enforcement agencies are responding to a wave of violent crime, including minor contract killers, school shootings in France, and gang attacks in Spain.

Authorities across Europe are confronting a wave of violent crime involving minors, contract killings, and localized shootings. Swedish police report growing concern over criminal networks recruiting teenagers via online advertisements offering bounties of up to €90,000 for assassinations. Relatedly, German police recently detained an armed 13-year-old Dutch minor suspected of being recruited by a gang targeting Hells Angels members in Hamburg.

In France, a 14-year-old student wounded a principal and teacher with a hunting rifle at a school near Marseille, while a separate incident in the country's northeast resulted in four family members dying in an alleged murder-suicide. Meanwhile, Spanish police in Madrid are investigating a targeted shooting that left a known offender wounded.

Sources: Canarias7, El Día, El Mundo, La Vanguardia, Marca.

Sources

Earlier coverage

Share