Swedish police demand more cash to stem rising violence in the country

Teenage killer was overpowered by other children living at the centre

The migrant teenager arrested on suspicion of stabbing to death a young Swedish social worker at a at a shelter for refugee children is from Somalia, one of her colleagues has revealed.

Alexandra Mezher, 22, was working on a night shift alone with ten teenagers when she was attacked at the home for unaccompanied young refugees in Mölndal, near Gothenburg. She later died of her injuries in hospital.

Details of the 15-year-old boy being held by murder detectives come as Miss Mezher's family blamed Sweden's migration crisis for her death.

Chiméne Mezher, 42, today told how she had lost her 'angel', as a cousin said: 'It is the Swedish politicians' fault that she is dead.'

Sweden is one of the main destinations for refugees and migrants entering the EU and police warn they cannot cope with the tide of migrant-related crime.

Scroll down for video

Tragedy: Alexandra Mezher, pictured right with her best friend Lejla Filipovic at their high school graduation in 2012, died after being stabbed at her place of work - a care home for unaccompanied child refugees

Pride of the family: Social worker Miss Mezher, 22, a Christian whose parents are from Lebanon, is pictured at her university graduation in June 2015 where she studied psychology

Inspirational: Dedicated Miss Mazher, who was planning on going back to university to do a masters, had been working with refugee children at the centre (pictured) since last autumn

Paying tribute to her 'angel', her mother wept: 'She was my air, she was my everything, why her?'

'She was a just and fair human being. There were so many who loved her. She was my daughter, my friend.. my mate,' Mrs Mezher said.

Miss Mezher's best friend-of-eight-years Lejla Filipovic, 22, also paid tribute to the young social worker today, saying the pair were like sisters.

'She was so goodhearted, she wanted to do so much in life,' she said adding that she had sometimes worried that Miss Mezher was putting herself at risk.

'I know that some of the kids aren't in a good place right now, because they came without their parents, so sometimes I was worried, but I knew that she had good co-workers.'

The tributes came as Swedish police announced that the Somali boy accused of murdering Miss Mezher will stand trial as an adult.

The teenager remains in custody, an unusual step as youngsters are normally sent to a secure children’s home following arrest.

However, police told MailOnline they had made the decision to keep the teenager behind bars due to the serious nature of the crime and the public outrage follow the brutal knife killing Miss Mezher.

Murdered: She was stabbed to death while working a night shift alone at the centre for migrant children in Molndal, on Sweden's west coast. A boy, 15, from Somalia, who lived at the centre, is in police custody

Full of life: Miss Mezher (pictured second from left) had only worked at the child migrant centre since the autumn. She was stabbed to death on Monday at 8am

Search: Detectives were at the migrant centre which houses children aged 14-17 searching for clues. Police today praised two hero teenagers who held the knifeman down until they arrived

Tribute: Flowers and candles have been left outside the housing for unaccompanied migrants in Molndal, near Gothenburg, where Miss Mezher was killed

ALLEGED TEENAGE KILLER TO BE TRIED AS AN ADULT, SAY POLICE The teenage migrant accused of murdering a young Swedish social worker at a refugee centre will stand trial as an adult, MailOnline has learnt. Authorities in Sweden have taken the unusual step of keeping the 15-year-old suspect in police custody due to the serious nature of the crime. Youngsters are normally sent to a secure children’s home following arrest, but the teenager is being held behind bars due to public outrage follow the brutal knife killing of Alexandra Mezher. And he will be held in an adult prison until he goes on trial. ‘A person is criminally responsible when they reach 15-years-old in Sweden,’ a Gothanburg Police spokesman told MailOnline. ‘The boy is being held at the police station. ‘But it is very unusual that children to be kept in custody by the police. ‘However the public prosecutor has deemed this as a special case due to the nature of the crime and will ask for the boy to be held in prison until he goes to trial.’ The spokesman added: ‘He is not known by the police and has not been arrested before. ‘But there is always a variable of uncertainty about these kids identity. ‘We don´t know anything about the boy family. We have not even established his identity with a 100% certainty yet.’ Meanwhile police have praised the bravery of the two residents of the migrant centre who tackled the killer, saying their courage had saved lives. ‘The two boys who over-powered the knifeman probably saved lives,’ a Gothenburg Police spokesman told MailOnline. ‘When the first patrol came to the centre they were informed that the boy was held down by two other boys who were living there. ‘When they entered the crime scene they found him on the floor being held by these two boys. ‘They had over-powered him and probably saved the lives of others. ‘It is fair to say that they were really brave and courageous in their actions. ‘We found what we think is the murder weapon laying beside them.’ All residents of the migrant centre, a drab three-storey building on the outskirts of Molndal, a suburb of Gothenburg, have been moved to another location, it has emerged. A police spokesman told MailOnline: ‘We have seven witnesses who saw the incident and we will talk to them again tomorrow. The 15 year old boy will be interrogated again tomorrow as well. ‘All the boys who were staying at the centre has been allocated to other centres in Mölndal.’ Advertisement

The incident comes amid rising tensions over migration in Sweden. The number of threats and violent incidents at asylum facilities doubled between 2014 and 2015.

Earlier this week, Stockholm police warned that the capital's main train station is 'overrun' by gangs of Moroccan street children, who are 'stealing and groping girls' and have called for more resources to cope.

Today, Prime minister Stefan Lofven admitted that many people are fearful of attacks similar to the killing of Miss Mezher, because 'Sweden receives so many children and youths arriving alone'.

Sweden accepted more than 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015, more than any other EU state per capita.

Alexandra, of Lebanese Christian origin, lived with her parents Boutros, 46, and Chiméne Mezher, and her two younger brothers in Borås, some 40 miles from Molndal.

Her father came to Sweden from Beirut, Lebanon, in 1989 and her mother moved there three years later.

It has now emerged that Miss Mezher had been working alone at the housing in Mölndal, which is home to ten unaccompanied minors.

Despite rules that the staff should work in pairs, Miss Mezher had been working a night shift all by herself and was attacked just half an hour before daytime staff were due to take over, it is claimed.

A colleague speaking on condition of anonymity said that staff had previously complained about having to work alone overnight.

'Everyone cried and someone said that this was something we had brought up before, that no one should work alone.'

A spokesperson for HBV Living Nordic AB, which runs several care facilities for unaccompanied minors in the surrounding area, told the paper the rotas followed government guidelines.

Police said Miss Mezher was stabbed shortly before 8am on Monday by a boy, who was then apprehended by other youths living at the centre.

She was taken to Sahlgrenska Hospital in Gothenburg, but died later on Monday as a result of her injuries.

Officers discovered a knife at the scene and the teenager has since been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Swedish police have today praised the actions of the other children living in the facility, hailing them 'heroes' after they overpowered the boy after he attacked Miss Mezher.

'Two boys held him down. It is a very good intervention. Had he intended to hurt anyone else, then they have prevented that,' said police spokesperson Peter Adlersson.

'It is easy to become injured yourself when intervening in this kind of situation. We are very grateful for these kinds of actions.'

Miss Mezher had only worked at the centre in Mölndal for a few months.

It is is home to ten unaccompanied children aged 14-17, who arrived in Sweden seeking asylum without a parent or a guardian and has provoked unrest.

Neighbourhood-watch groups have reportedly been sent out to prevent teenage girls from being sexually harassed on their way home from the commuter trains from Gothenburg.

Parents have also spoken out against having their children in the same classes as the immigrants.

Hard working: Psychology graduate Miss Mezher who was a Lebanese Christian whose parents were from Beirut, was today described by her mother Chiméne as an 'angel'

Poignant: Miss Mezher, a Lebanese Christian, had posted a number 'inspirational quotes' on Facebook confirming her faith

Inspiration: Miss Mezher's Facebook profile give a poignant reminder of the loving, caring person she was. Paying tribute her mother said: 'She was a just and fair human being. There were so many who loved her'

Questioning: A boy, 15, living at the centre, from Somalia, is being questioned by detectives on suspicion of murder. Police have cordoned off the centre as forensics investigate

Scene: Molndal, on Sweden's west coast, where the migrant centre is, has been the scene of rising tension in recent months. Neighbourhood-watch groups have been sent out to prevent teenage girls from being sexually harassed on their way home from the commuter trains from Gothenburg

But Miss Mezher, a psychology graduate from the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, was driven by a strong desire to do good, and was fascinated by theories examining why some people commit crime.

She had completed a three-year course in social science for communication and learning and called her dissertation, 'The road to non criminal - a lifestyle change'.

Written with another student, she researched the factors which help offenders break from a life of crime.

It concludes that to make a lifestyle change and be able to break a delinquent behaviour, 'social workers need to build trust in relationships'.

Miss Mezher's cousin said: 'It is so terrible. She was a person who wanted to do good, who wanted to be good.

'And then he murdered her when she was doing her job. We have cried a lot. She was such a nice person, warm and happy.'

Miss Mezher was reportedly planning to return to university to do a masters degree in social science.

The stabbing occurred on the same day as police in Sweden demanded more resources to stem rising violence apparently linked to the migrant crisis.

Police spokesman Thomas Fuxborg, who refused to reveal details of the murder suspect's nationality, said: 'These kinds of calls are becoming more and more common.

'We're dealing with more incidents like these since the arrival of so many more refugees from abroad.'

Home: Miss Mezher was living with her parents, originally from Lebanon, and her younger brothers in Borås, some 40 miles from Molndal

Centre: Miss Mezher, whose family are originally from Lebanon, had only worked at the accommodation for unaccompanied refugee children for a few months

National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson requested 4,100 additional officers and support staff to help fight against terrorism, carry out migrant deportations and police asylum facilities.

He said: 'We are forced to respond to many disturbances in asylum reception centres. In some places, this takes significant police resources.

'This was not the case six months ago and it means that we won't be able to respond as effectively in other areas.

Also weighing on police resources are border controls introduced on January 4 and a higher national terrorist threat level after the Paris attacks in November.

'Many of the problems we are now facing help to prove the point that Swedish police have long been underfunded and under-staffed,' police union director Lena Nitz, told TT.

'It is obvious that the migrant situation is a great strain. It has become clear that the situation is completely unsustainable.'

The police request for more resources comes as greater attention is being focused on allegations of violence by young migrants across Europe, with some countries expressing doubt about their ability to integrate them into society.

Like the rest of Europe, Sweden has been struggling with the continent's biggest migration crisis since World War II.

A country of 9.8 million, Sweden took in more than 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015, the highest number of refugees and migrant arrivals per capita in the EU.

Out of the 160,000 who applied for asylum, 35,369 were unaccompanied minors.

Critics: National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson (left) requested 4,100 additional officers and support staff to help fight against terrorism, carry out migrant deportations and police asylum facilities. Police spokesman Thomas Fuxborg added: 'These kinds of calls are becoming more and more common. We're dealing with more incidents like these since the arrival of so many more refugees from abroad'

Clashes: Tensions are rising in Sweden as it struggles to cope with a record influx of migrants and asylum seekers (pictured: An estimated 15,000 people attended a Refugees Welcome rally in Gothenburg last year)