Jiu Jitsu Academy Burns Down After Molotov Cocktail Attack

Last week, on Thursday evening, Swedish BJJ Academy owner Max Lindblad got a phone call that he would never forget. The police called his wife’s phone and told them that their BJJ club “Stark” Jiu Jitsu was on fire in downtown Stockholm, Sweden.

– We went to the club immediately, said Max Lindblad to MMAnytt’s Matias Andres. We talked to the police on the spot. It turns out that someone kicked in the window and threw in an object filled with petrol/gas and lit the place up. The whole academy is on fire. It’s not just small fire, the entire BJJ club is burning.

The arson attack has left “Stark” Jiu Jitsu owners and its members in both shock and confusion. Lindblad says that the surveillance cameras show how two people leave the crime scene in a car, but he wants to avoid speculating too much about who may be behind it.

The academy is damaged by fire and smoke but fortunately nobody got hurt. However, it could have ended really badly.

– Since it took place at a time that we are normally in the gym, it makes it a little scary, Lindblad continues. We could just as easily have been inside the gym and if you look at the surveillance cameras, the whole gym is on fire in ten minutes. What makes it even more scary is that people are living in that building. The academy is situated on the ground level of a residential building, so the whole building could have burnt down. It could have gone bad.

The police have now initiated a preliminary investigation and are classifying the incident as an attempt at aggravated arson.

The academy has received enormous support after the tragedy

Although it has been a very difficult time for the team behind Stark Jiu Jitsu and its members, they are now looking past this tragedy.

Just recently the members of the academy competed in the BJJ World Cup in Abu Dhabi and managed to get three members on the championship podium.

Lindblad and his team have been flooded with best wishes and financial support, mainly via their GoFundMe page, which has raised more than 250,000 Swedish SEK for the academy.