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Local Sweden
26-06-2025
- Local Sweden
'Stockholm syndrome' bank robber Clark Olofsson dies aged 78
Clark Olofsson, one of Sweden's most well-known criminals, has died at the age of 78, his family confirmed to the ETC newspaper. Advertisement Olofsson was most known for his involvement in the so-called 'Norrmalmstorgs drama' in 1973, the bank robbery that gave rise to the 'Stockholm syndrome' expression. He arrived at the scene after his friend Jan-Erik Olsson took hostages at Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg and demanded that police release Olofsson – already one of Sweden's most notorious bank robbers – from prison and transport him to the bank. The drama continued for six days and grabbed headlines around the world. It was one of the first major news events broadcast live on Swedish television, with police snipers perched on roofs around the square. Prime Minister Olof Palme was brought in to help negotiate, only to be sharply scolded by one of the hostages. "I'm not the least bit afraid of Clark and the other guy, I'm afraid of the police. Do you understand? I trust them completely," she told Palme in a phone call. "You know what I'm afraid of? That the police will do something to us, storm the bank or something." The term 'Stockholm syndrome', used to refer to a hostage who begins to sympathise with the hostage taker, has since been dismissed as a psychological condition, with critics arguing the hostages' behaviour was perfectly rational under the circumstances. Advertisement After days of unsuccessful negotiations, police eventually filled the bank vault with tear gas, upon which Olsson and Olofsson surrendered and all four hostages were freed. The incident is still remembered as Sweden's most famous bank robbery. Netflix released a series about it a few years ago, with Bill Skarsgård playing Olofsson. 'I think Clark Olofsson will be remembered as one of Sweden's most famous bank robbers, criminal through and through, but there will probably be a bit of a glorified shimmer around him,' former crime reporter Tina Frennstedt told the TT newswire. She criticised some of the glorifying coverage of Olofsson. 'He has exposed a lot of people to pretty bad trauma,' she said. Olofsson studied journalism at Stockholm University between 1979 and 1983, while serving time in jail, completing an internship with the Arbetaren newspaper. He was locked up several times during his lifetime for serious crimes, including both before and after the Norrmalmstorg robbery, and spent more than half his life in prison.
NDTV
26-06-2025
- NDTV
'Stockholm Syndrome' Bank Robber Clark Olofsson Dies
Clark Olofsson, a Swedish bank robber who held four people hostage for six days in a 1973 Stockholm bank siege that coined the term "Stockholm Syndrome", has died aged 78, his family said Thursday. Olofsson, one of Sweden's most notorious repeat offenders and the subject of the 2022 Netflix series "Clark", died at a Swedish hospital after a lengthy illness, his family told online media outlet Dagens ETC. Olofsson had a slew of convictions including robbery, attempted murder, drug dealing and assault, and spent more than half of his life in prison. He was best known for his role in the August 23, 1973 seige of Kreditbanken in central Stockholm. Another robber, Janne Olsson, had stormed the bank waving a submachine gun, taking three women and one man hostage as police quickly swarmed the building. Olsson was agitated and demanded that Olofsson, who was in prison for bank robbery at the time, be brought to the bank, and Sweden's government agreed. One of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, later wrote in her book "I Became the Stockholm Syndrome" that when Olofsson arrived, she saw him as her saviour. "He promised that he would make sure nothing happened to me and I decided to believe him," she wrote. "I was 23 years old and feared for my life." She spoke on the phone to authorities several times during the hostage drama, shocking the world when she came out in defence of her captors. "I'm not the least bit afraid of Clark and the other guy, I'm afraid of the police. Do you understand? I trust them completely," she told the prime minister at the time, Olof Palme, in one phone call. "Believe it or not but we've had a really nice time here," she said, adding that they were "telling stories" and "playing checkers". "You know what I'm afraid of? That the police will do something to us, storm the bank or something," she said. The crisis ended on the sixth day when police sprayed tear gas inside the bank, forcing Olsson and Olofsson to surrender, and freeing the hostages. The hostages later refused to testify against their captors. Experts have since debated whether "Stockholm Syndrome" is an actual psychiatric condition, with some arguing it is instead a defence mechanism to cope with a traumatic situation.
