Events
On 23 August 1973 Jan-Erik "Janne" Olsson, on leave from prison, went into Kreditbanken (now part of Nordea) at Norrmalmstorg, central Stockholm and attempted to hold up the bank. Swedish police were called in immediately, two of them went inside, and Olsson opened fire, injuring one policeman. The other was ordered to sit in a chair and "sing something"; he started singing "Lonesome Cowboy". Olsson then took four people as hostages. He demanded his friend Clark Olofsson to be brought there, along with 3 million Swedish Kronor ($730,000 US 1973 value), two guns, bullet-proof vests, helmets, and a fast car. Olofsson was a repeat offender who had committed several armed robberies and acts of violence, the first committed at the age of 16.
Olofsson was brought in by permission of the government and established a communication link with the police negotiators. One of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, said she felt safe with Olsson and Olofsson but feared the police might escalate the situation by using violent methods. Olsson and Olofsson barricaded the inner main vault in which they kept the hostages. Negotiators agreed that they could have a car to escape, but would not allow them to take hostages with them if they tried to leave.
Olsson called up the Prime Minister Olof Palme and said he would kill the hostages, backing up his threat by grabbing one in a stranglehold; she was heard screaming as he hung up. The next day, Palme received another call. This time, it was Kristin Enmark who said she was very displeased with his attitude, asking him to let the robbers and the hostages leave.
Olofsson walked around in the vault singing Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly".
The drama went on. On August 26, the police drilled a hole into the main vault from the apartment above. From this hole, a widely circulated picture of the hostages with Olofsson was taken. Olofsson also fired his weapon into this hole on two occasions and, during the latter attempt, he wounded a police officer in the hand and face.
Olsson fired his weapon and threatened to kill the hostages if any gas attack was attempted. On August 28, the gas was used nevertheless, and after half an hour Olsson and Olofsson surrendered. None of the hostages sustained permanent injuries.
Read more about this topic: Norrmalmstorg Robbery
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