A 38-year-old man who sparked controversy and violent protests by burning a copy of the Quran has been shot dead in Sweden, according to local media.

Reports indicate that Salwan Momika was killed in an apartment in Södertälje, Stockholm, on Wednesday night.

The incident follows widespread unrest in 2023 when he set fire to Islam's holy book outside Stockholm Central Mosque.

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Stockholm police confirmed that a man in his 40s was fatally shot overnight, and five individuals have been arrested in connection with the case. Officers responded to a shooting at an apartment in Hovsjö at around 23:11 local time (22:11 GMT) on Wednesday. The victim, found with gunshot wounds, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Thursday morning.

Local reports suggest that Momika had been livestreaming on social media at the time of the shooting.

Momika, originally from Iraq and residing in Sweden, faced charges of "agitation against an ethnic group" for multiple incidents in 2023. A court verdict on the case was scheduled for Thursday but was postponed after authorities confirmed his death.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated that security services were investigating possible links to foreign entities, according to SVT.

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Momika’s anti-Islam demonstrations sparked backlash across Muslim-majority nations, leading to protests outside the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and the expulsion of Sweden’s ambassador.

Although Swedish authorities had permitted Momika's Quran-burning protest under free speech laws, the government later pledged to review legislation to restrict such demonstrations in certain circumstances.

Source: Agencies