'More murders in Florida than in Sweden'

Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt has responded to US President Donald Trump's remarks on crime rates in Sweden, saying Florida saw more murder than the whole of Sweden.

Bildt on Monday hit the US President for his remarks at a rally in Florida, this time with statistics on the country's crime rates, The Hill magazine reported.

"Last year there were 50 per cent more murders only in Orlando/Orange in Florida, than in all of Sweden. Bad," Bildt tweeted.

Bildt was referring to the largest mass shooting in US history at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in June last year when Omar Mateen killed 49 people.

Mateen, who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, was shot dead by police at the nightclub.

Bildt tweeted the statistics after already responding to Trump's comments on Friday.

"Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound," Bildt tweeted on Sunday.

Trump clarified: "My statement as to what's happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on Fox News concerning immigrants and Sweden."

The Fox News segment featured a documentary filmmaker who linked Sweden's immigration policies to rising crime rates.

However, crime rates in Sweden have decreased since 2005 even as hundreds of thousands of refugees have entered the country.

--IANS

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