Nils “Einar” Gronberg, an award-winning Swedish rapper with millions of music platform streams, was gunned down Thursday night in Stockholm. He died at 19 in what is believed to be a gang-related incident, authorities have confirmed.
The recording artist was “shot dead instantly” in the upscale suburb of Hammarby Sjostad, Swedish National Police Board spokesman Ola Osterling told the Swedish news agency TT.
Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported that Einar was killed “execution-style” at point-blank range.
“A young life has been extinguished, and I understand that he meant a lot to many young people. It is tragic,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told local outlets.
No arrests had been made as of Friday morning — but authorities are looking for at least two suspects who allegedly shot the rapper, according to the Associated Press.
The rapper’s murder is being investigated as gang-related, as it occurred a year after he was reportedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a rival gang, according to the Swedish public broadcaster SVT and other outlets.
Einar rose to fame at 16 when his song “Katten i trakten” (“The Cat in the Neighborhood”), from his debut album “Forsta klass” (“First Class”), topped the Swedish charts in 2019. That debut single has more than 8 million videos on YouTube.
He went on to release four albums, rack up tens of millions of streams on music platforms and earned several Swedish Grammys and other awards, including an international song of the year award in 2019.
Sweden has seen a rise in organized crime activity in recent years and several gang-related shootings have occurred in Stockholm, Goteborg and Malmo, the AP reported.
