A September 2019 file photo shows Swedish rap artist Einar (issued 22 October 2021). Einar was shot to death in the street at the Hammarby Sjostad district in Stockholm late 21 October 2021, according to police. -EPA PIC
A September 2019 file photo shows Swedish rap artist Einar (issued 22 October 2021). Einar was shot to death in the street at the Hammarby Sjostad district in Stockholm late 21 October 2021, according to police. -EPA PIC
A man places flowers and candles near a crime scene in the Hammarby Sjostad district in Stockholm on October 22, 2021 after a person believed to be the Swedish rap artist Einar, officially named Nils Kurt Erik Einar Gronberg, was shot to death late on October 21. -AFP PIC
A man places flowers and candles near a crime scene in the Hammarby Sjostad district in Stockholm on October 22, 2021 after a person believed to be the Swedish rap artist Einar, officially named Nils Kurt Erik Einar Gronberg, was shot to death late on October 21. -AFP PIC

STOCKHOLM: Swedish rapper Einar, who won awards and topped charts in the Scandinavian country, was shot and killed late Thursday in Stockholm, police and media said as police hunted for suspects.

The 19-year-old Einar, who raps in Swedish, was the most streamed artist on Spotify in Sweden in 2019.

He was shot several times outside an apartment building shortly before 11pm. Ambulance personnel administered first aid but he died at the scene, Stockholm police spokeswoman Towe Hagg told AFP.

Police have opened a murder investigation.

"We are actively working to figure why it happened and who can be behind it," Hagg said.

In line with the usual practice, police have not yet confirmed the identity of the victim. But Sweden's main media outlets all identified him as Einar, whose full name is Nils Kurt Erik Einar Gronberg.

Many of Einar's songs reference a life of crime, including drugs and weapons. He had public feuds with rival artist Yasin, who in July was jailed for 10 months for his role in a 2020 kidnapping of Einar.

Einar started posting songs to social media as a young teenager and had his breakthrough in 2019, when he released the song "Katten i trakten" (The cat in the area), which made it to number one on the Swedish singles chart.

He won several music awards, including Swedish Grammys.

Sweden has in recent years struggled to combat rising shootings and bombings by gangs and organised crime.

"It is a young life that has been lost, and I understand that he meant a lot to many young people. It's tragic that another life has been lost," Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Friday told news agency TT. – AFP