Iceland has recorded 48 homicide cases since 2010

Iceland has recorded 48 homicide cases since 2010, an average of 2.8 a year, mbl.is reported. The fatal incident in Breiðholt over the weekend is the country’s third homicide case this year.

Margrét Valdimarsdóttir, a criminologist and associate professor at the University of Iceland, said Iceland’s population had grown rapidly and become more diverse. She said it was important to examine fluctuations in both homicides and serious assaults, noting that the consequences of an assault can depend on how quickly the victim receives medical care.

Homicide rates have fluctuated sharply since 1990, she said. In 2000, there were five homicides and many serious assaults. The homicide rate was 1.79 per 100,000 people that year, compared with 2.08 in 2024, which she described as a record.

The 34-year-old man who died in Breiðholt was found near a shopping centre in Hraunberg. A 35-year-old man was also found there and remains seriously injured. The two men detained in connection with the death are a 34-year-old son and his 59-year-old father; both were injured.

Morgunblaðið reported that the father and son had been together at a sports bar in upper Breiðholt on Saturday evening, before the confrontation. The dead man was reportedly intending to extort money from the son. It is not known where the confrontation began. People matching descriptions of the four men were reportedly seen near Hólabrekkuskóli and Fjölbrautaskólinn í Breiðholti.

Police checked whether a surveillance camera at a kiosk in Hraunberg had recorded the incident. The kiosk owner said it showed only the parking lot outside the premises, not the location of the confrontation.