Sweden: Muslim migrant, once praised as an integration success story, shoots classmate in the head

The Salum Family bakes in the newly purchased condominium in Skogås photo: Peter Johansson/Sveriges Radio

In 2020, Swedish state media presented Ali Salum and his Syrian refugee family as a model of successful integration. However, five years later, the now 15-year-old is on trial for attempted murder, accused of shooting a classmate in the head inside a school restroom at Trångsund School in Huddinge.

The trial began on Thursday and is expected to last three days, concluding on January 22. Salum faces charges of attempted murder, preparation for murder, and aggravated weapons offenses.

The charges stem from a September incident last year, when a gunshot fired inside a school restroom left a 15-year-old student with severe injuries. The victim, who was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, miraculously survived despite the bullet passing through his nose and lodging in his neck.

During police interrogations, Ali Salum initially denied responsibility, claiming his classmate had attempted suicide.

"He wanted to commit suicide before," Salum told investigators.

However, under further questioning, he changed his statement, calling the gunfire a “warning shot.” The victim, however, dismissed the suicide claim as "a pure lie."

"He aimed at the mouth and then the head. So he did it on purpose," the survivor told police.

Born in Aleppo, Syria, Ali Salum arrived in Sweden with his parents and three siblings during the 2015 migrant crisis. The Swedish Migration Agency confirmed that the family sought asylum.

In 2019, Salum was granted Swedish citizenship, followed by his father in 2023, though his mother’s application was denied.

Notably, Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Radio interviewed the family in 2020, depicting them as a success story of integration. They shared their housing struggles, recounting how they had moved five times before finally buying a home in Skogås.

"Father and mother bought a house so that I wouldn’t have to move too many times," a 10-year-old Ali Salum said at the time.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)