Mordet på Olof Palme - 28 februari 1986

News
Sweden's PM is slain
Associated Press
1326 words
1 March 1986
The Globe and Mail
GLOB
A1; (ILLUS)
English
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Associated Press, Reuter

Canadian Press and Staff

STOCKHOLM

Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot on a Stockholm street last night as he strolled home from a cinema, and died less than an hour later in hospital. His wife, Lisbeth, was also shot but was not seriously hurt.

Stockholm Police Chief Sune Sandstrom said today that ''there is nothing to indicate that there were political motives or that any political organization was behind this act.'' Speaking to the Swedish news agency TT, he confirmed that initial police alerts had mentioned that guerrillas from the Croatian separatist group Ustasha were suspected, because the Swedish Government had recently rejected a jailed Croatian terrorist's application for release. But ''nothing now indicates that this is correct,'' he said.

News of the shooting stunned Sweden, where political violence is virtually unknown, and also drew shocked statements from Canadian leaders. It was the first major political assassination in Sweden's modern history.

Mr. Palme, 59, often surprised foreign visitors by strolling unescorted to his home in Stockholm's old town. He had two bodyguards to protect him at official functions but frequently said he was proud that he could walk unattended through the capital and take vacations unescorted at his summer cottage on the island of Gotland.

He was shot in the chest with a handgun at close range on a street corner after he and his wife had left a cinema. The news agency quoted witnesses as saying he was hit twice.

Police said there were at least four witnesses, including two young girls who tried to help Mr. Palme. A taxi driver who saw the shooting alerted police through his company's switchboard, and a police bus was dispatched.

Lisbeth Palme was taken to the same hospital in an ambulance, but was able to walk in and was released several hours later.

Deputy Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsstrom arrived at 1 a.m. at Government House to head a crisis meeting with other Cabinet members. He took over as Prime Minister.

Police issued an alert for a dark- haired man aged between 35 and 40 and dressed in a long, dark overcoat, and reports said they were also seeking a second man. TT said police were pursuing a Volkswagen car seen speeding through the northwestern part of the city. Drivers said police cordoned off several blocks downtown.

''We were informed at 2323 hours (5:23 p.m. EST) that a man had been shot at the junction of Sveavagen and Tunnelgatan,'' Stockholm police chief Sune Sandstrom told Swedish Radio. ''It turned out to be Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was taken to Sabbatsberg Hospital and declared dead at 12:06 a.m. (6:06 p.m. EST).

''According to our information, a man stepped forward and shot Palme in the chest. He then ran off and disappeared. Evidently other shots were fired, as his wife was also injured.''

Swedish Radio said Mr. Palme and his wife had just left a cinema where they had seen a film titled The Brothers Mozart. They had walked only a few blocks when the gunman opened fire.

Taxi driver Anders Delsborn, 27, told Swedish Radio today he had stopped at traffic lights on a downtown street when he noticed three people standing on the sidewalk on his left. ''Whether they were talking or not, I don't know. When I got the green light to go, I heard the first shot.

''I turned around and saw the second shot coming. The person in question fell and the man who fired turned and ran off towards the alleyway. I picked up my radio microphone and put out an alarm for the police and an ambulance.'' ''I was shocked, I quite simply couldn't believe it was true, but I was forced to believe it as the man sank down and I saw that blood was pouring from him.''

The taxi driver said two women in their mid-20s rushed to Mr. Palme's aid almost immediately after the shooting and one took his pulse. A man tried to give artificial respiration.

But ''in my opinion, no one realized it was Olof Palme.''