Several masked gunmen opened fire on a man and woman carrying a child near the popular beach resort of Ribersborg, Sweden. The woman has died and police are hunting for the perpetrators.

At approximately 10am local time, a gang of several masked attackers fired off between eight and ten shots, reportedly from multiple weapons, before fleeing the scene through the grounds of a nearby apartment building.

The woman was reportedly carrying the child when she was struck by a bullet in the unprovoked attack. She was taken to hospital for emergency treatment but later died of her wounds. The man they were with then went into shock.

According to Swedish media, one possible motive being explored by police is that the child's father was the intended target of the attack. The man is said to have a criminal record in both Sweden and Denmark and has served time in prison previously.

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Ambulances and police were immediately dispatched to the scene and authorities established a security cordon around the area. Specialized police sniffer dogs are already on the trail of the perpetrators, according to police. The three victims were transported to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment.

“This is one of the most serious crimes there is, so we are deploying all of our resources to investigate it, and also sending officers to speak to people near the scene of the attack, who might be disturbed by what has happened,” Calle Persson from the Malmö police told The Local.

Malmo has developed a reputation as something of a crime hotspot in Sweden, with the UPS delivery service declaring several areas in the city as no-go zones. In 2018, the police even arranged a hand grenade amnesty to try and stem the violence carried out by rival gangs in the city. Malmo also featured in spate of arson attacks last year.

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