The Swedish public has reportedly been left in shock following reports that a 12-year-old has been arrested in cooncection to a hired hit in the fatal shooting of man in the town of Malmo.

According to reports in Swedish media, the pre-teen suspect was apprehended by authorities following reports by teh eyewitnesses of the shooting.

It’s further reported that the youngerster is suspected to have been paid 250,000 Swedish crowns ($27,000) to travel to the city of Malmö and end the life of a specific person. The “child assassin, as dubbed by the local media, however, knocked off the wrong person, who happened to be in the same car as his suspected target.

The error in judgment, coupled with the eyewitness accounts, led authorities to the youngest, who is said to have been part of criminal network. As jarring as the report has been, the police have shared a more disturbing trend that the age demographic of perpetrators of serious criminal offences has been trending down into teens. However, this case has been the first official suspected murder connected to a minor below 13.