Three teens convicted in Sweden over shooting attack on Israeli defence firm

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Three teenagers were convicted in Sweden on Monday of being involved in a shooting attack on an office of Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems in Gothenburg last year.

A fourth boy, who was accused of actually carrying out the attack by opening fire at the entrance to the building in October, was 13 at the time - too young for him to stand trial under Swedish law.

No one was injured in the shooting. The verdict did not mention any motive for the attack.

One boy who was 15 at the time was found guilty of instigating attempted murder and sentenced to 20 months of juvenile detention, the Gothenburg District Court said in its verdict.

The court said he had persuaded the perpetrator to shoot, knowing there was a considerable risk someone could be killed. The boy's lawyer declined to comment on the verdict.

The two other teenage defendants were acquitted of being accessory to attempted murder but were found guilty of the lesser charges of being accessory to threats and weapons crime and of involving an underage person.

Swedish police in May last year said they had stepped up security around Israeli and Jewish interests in the Nordic country after officers on patrol heard suspected gunshots near Israel's embassy in Stockholm.

Sweden has seen an epidemic of gun violence in recent years, primarily driven by criminal gangs. The country's minimum age for criminal responsibility is 15.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik and Andrew Heavens)

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