Award-winning masked rapper C.Gambino is shot dead in ambush at Swedish car park

Award-winning masked rapper C.Gambino has been shot dead in a car park ambush in Sweden.

The 26-year-old, whose real name is Karar Ramadan, was one of Sweden's biggest rap stars and was named rapper of the year last month.

The artist parked his car at a garage in Gothenburg last night where one or more attackers were lying in wait, according to police.

He was shot and hit by multiple bullets, investigators said, with pictures from the scene showing a spray of bullet holes in a glass door.

Police have said the killing was 'linked to a gang conflict' and that C.Gambino was 'known to police'. 

 C.Gambino parked his car at a garage in Gothenburg last night where one or more attackers were lying in wait, according to local media

The 26-year-old, whose real name is Karar Ramadan , was one of Sweden's biggest rap stars

He was shot and hit by at least two bullets, police said, with pictures from the scene showing several holes in a glass door

'Police have launched a murder inquiry... No one has been arrested in the case,' police said in a statement.

A chart topper in his native Sweden, C.Gambino had a million monthly listeners on Spotify and recently released a new single.

The hip hop star received a Grammi - Sweden's most prestigious music prize which is equivalent to the American Grammy Award - just a few weeks ago.

C.Gambino's most recent track, 'Sista Gang' (Last Time), was released on May 31 and has been streamed 700,000 times since then on Swedish site Spotify. 

He is not to be confused with Grammy-award winner Childish Gambino, the stage name used by US singer and actor Donald Glover.

Rap expert Petter Hallen told news agency TT that C.Gambino was 'one of Swedish hip hop's greats' and added that his death was 'a heavy blow to the rap scene in Gothenburg and all of Sweden'.

'What's even more tragic is that he had recently moved away from just the dark criminal stuff, towards more expressions of relationships and feelings,' he said.

C.Gambino's death comes just a few years after the shooting of another high-profile Swedish rapper in a gang-related shooting.

Nils Kurt Erik Einar Grönberg, who went by the name Einár, was just 19 years old when he was killed in an 'execution-style shooting' in 2021.

C.Gambino's death comes just a few years after the shooting of another high-profile Swedish rapper, 19-year-old Nils Kurt Erik Einar Grönberg, who went by the name Einár (pictured)

The Scandinavian country has struggled to contain surging gang violence in recent years, with shootings and bombings now weekly occurrences across the country.

The gang violence was originally linked to control over the drugs market, but has increasingly spread to rivalries and personal vendettas, among other things.

After C.Gambino's killing on Tuesday night, a police task force raided an address in Gothenburg, according to Expressen. 

Several people were brought in for questioning, but there is no suspect at present, according to police.

The hip hop artist received a Grammi - Sweden's most prestigious music prize which is equivalent to the American Grammy Award - just a few weeks ago

A man who has lived in the area for 15 years and was nearby when the attack happened told newspaper Dagens Nyhter that the shooting was just the latest in the area after a man was shot in the foot on Sunday.

'Unfortunately, I think we can expect more,' he said, 'But this is not the gang that was around in 2011-12, these are younger guys, the older guys are sitting in. We have a new generation going on here... It's sad.'

Several witnesses reportedly saw a car leave the scene shortly after the shooting, with reports that it was a silver Volvo V70. 

The investigation is ongoing, police said, and they are appealing to the public for information.