Today's daycare center massacre in Thailand points again to just
how rare these mass shootings are outside of the United States, where
this year alone, there have been more than 500. Survivors of Norway's
deadliest ever massacre in 2011 are urging the US to tighten gun
laws to try to end school shootings across the border from Norway.
In Sweden. Sporadic gang fueled gun crime just helped to install
a far right anti immigrant party into power.
Both countries have relatively high levels of gun ownership, but
low levels of gun related homicides. Special correspondent Malcolm
Robin went to Scandinavia to see if there are lessons America can
learn.
At long last. Norway has a national memorial for the worst attack
on its soil since World War two at this summer's inauguration, Friends
honored the 69 Young victims massacred 11 years ago on the island
of Utoya by right wing extremists and as private Elizabeth
this Lee
Elizabeth train is Lee was 16 years old when she was murdered her
sister Catherine, Then 17 was one of 110 wounded On the anniversary
of the shooting. Catherine posted this image, revealing the exit
wound of the round that nearly claimed her life.
The everlasting torment of their mother, Margaret is plain to see
painting provides an outlet for grief and anger from having just
two daughters, Catherine and Victoria's instead of three. This is
a painting of
My daughters, sisters. Those two I have left.
They're comforting each other.
And that gives me comfort that they have each other.
I know that there is about disco.
What do you think? Every time you hear that there's been a massacre
in America. I can feel the pain.
I really feel it. I can't understand why every American
Should own okay
and be able to buy a gun.
Why Here's a comparison between America, Norway in 2020, which was
the worst every year for gun related deaths in the United States.
In America. That year, there were 19,384 gun homicides in Norway,
just two. Yes. Two.
America's population is 60 times that of Norway. So if you were to
transfer Norway's figures to the United States, there would have
been just 120 deaths instead of nearly 20,000.
Having
Stood in the wrong end of the kind of a mass shooter is
Nothing experience anyone should ever have.
After surviving Utoya vanilla. Now 31 has devoted his life to promoting
peace and countering extremism. He hasn't stepped foot on the island
since 2014 when he went back with me to the place where the shooter
fired at him and missed private pointed has gone at me, and he fired
and
For a moment there. I knew I was that basically collapsed in the
water.
I guess he just assumed he had hit me or something like that, because
he continued just shooting people around me.
When he's not trying to de Radicalists, right wing or Islamic extremists
lives in the Nordic woods. Tranquility soothes his trauma. Many of
my friends were killed in the attack, and my entire country was changed
forever by it.
Hi. Linda
Espen Faster represents Norway's Hunters Association. He's happy
that post utoya legislation outlawed automatic semiautomatic and
high caliber pistols and rifles. We are very safe. We have 1.3 million
guns, civil guns in the Norwegian society.
That means one for every foreign women in the region.
But we hardly see any crimes. Norway has some of the world's toughest
gun laws, shotguns and hunting rifles can be purchased following
stringent background checks and extensive training firearms are seen
here primarily as tools for hunting faster, believes Americans should
emulate Norwegians and tackle what he calls the paranoia of guns
for self defense.
They are playing with their own kids lives, and I don't think they
take it seriously enough, and I think it's
Sad to say that
heavy organizations like the National Rifle Association keep on working
like they do for their weapon interest without seeing the big problems
there causing in the society, But it's impossible for America to
be as safe as Norway unless the constitutional right to bear arms
is modified Vanilla believes the founding fathers intentions, written
in an era of single shot muskets have been misinterpreted. I do think
there needs to be a change in the culture surrounding
Guns, demilitarization. Disarmament really should be natural conclusion
at this point.
Especially considering the way in which firearms have changed. And
we now have a much higher degree of high capacity weapons target
practice with the customized AR 15, the weapon of choice for many
American mass murderers in Sweden, it's only available for purchase
by sports shooters like Champion markswoman PR clerk.
Across the border from Norway. Sweden also enforces restrictive gun
controls to be granted a Swedish gun license. Applicants must be
of good character and law abiding hunting and sports guns can only
be obtained after six months. Assessment at a certified club and
then gun owners are monitored by the police. Every 24 hours. There
is a registry check if you have done any crimes or suspected for
any crimes or anything like that, and it can be things like driving
too fast or
Being too drunk in a restaurant, for instance, in the bar, those
kind of things would make the police check. If you have a gun. Such
misdemeanors could result in both guns and license being forfeited.
PSS table. Sweden's gun laws are tough enough in terms of the legal
gun owners with a license in Sweden. I would say that is one of the
most law abiding groups
as a whole in the Swedish society, whereas on the other side you
have people who obviously don't care about killing other people,
so they are not going to care about having a legal gun.
Is referring to the gang wars, which in recent years have exploded
across Swedish in the cities.
In this video posted on social media. Young Gangsters show off their
Kalashnikov.
Because
the rounds hit an empty restaurant in Stockholm, and no one was hurt
in this snapshot of Sweden's dark underbelly.
Most experts are convinced that the battle grounds of former Yugoslavia
of the source of most illegal weapons once smugglers into the frontier
free European Union. Reaching Sweden is easy. Professor Magnus Ranstorp
from Sweden's Defense College is an expert on the illegal arms trade
Example. In Malmo. You can buy automatic weapons for about
25,000 Swedish Corona, which is about 1000 bucks. You usually get
thrown in a couple of hand grenades for free. Apart from the gang
problem is Sweden, a safe country. Most people are not worried about
their family members getting shot unless there are in socially vulnerable
areas unless they are somehow wrapped up in gang conflict.
Is that Vince
perception was undermined by this hit in a busy mall in Malmo, southern
Sweden, on August 19, in which a well known gang leader was killed.
The 39 year old woman totally unconnected to the feud was caught
in the spray of bullets with national elections fast approaching
gun crime, and the involvement of teenagers is now a hot issue. The
alleged shooter arrested near the scene was just 15 years old. As
this is like a spiral of violence, you have to cool the conflict
down. Karen Svanberg heads the Swedish government's in the city Crime
Prevention unit.
She acknowledges that Sweden was slow to react to gun violence. It's
now applying more robust policing and tougher jail terms. If you
are violent group, you will get in the focus of the attention from
the police, so that creates internal pressure within the group to
come down the conflict.
But sweets rejected the former center left governments light touch
on gun crime. With murder rates heading to record highs In last month's
general election, voters turned to a right wing coalition, which
promised to get tough on gang crime.
There are fears the violence may spread to Norway and nation desperate
for peace after utoya.
After hiding in this kitchen, fleeing through the woods to a beach
and being rescued by a boat utoya survivor Toby Invalid ER is in
a prime position to shape Norway's future.
Now a member of parliament and carrying a torch for his murdered
friends for rider has this advice for America? I respect that some
people value their right to own non carrier guns.
But I think that the value of life
The value of the Children the value of the adults that are getting
killed everyone every day now.
It's more important and that we have to decide which principle is
the most important. It took just one mass shooting for Norway to
tighten up gun control. There is bewilderment here that America won't
follow suit.