Assassination of Olof Palme
| Assassination of Olof Palme | |
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The killing of Palme left Sweden in a state of shock. Several days after the assassination, thousands of citizens of the shocked nation left flowers at his final resting place, creating a huge pile.
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| Location | Sveavägen–Tunnelgatan, , Sweden |
| Coordinates | 59°20′12″N 18°03′46″E / 59.3366°N 18.0628°ECoordinates: 59°20′12″N 18°03′46″E / 59.3366°N 18.0628°E |
| Date | 28 February 1986 23.21 (Central European Time) |
| Target | Olof Palme |
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Attack type
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Assassination |
| Weapons | Probably a revolver (.357 Magnum) |
| Deaths | 1 killed (Olof Palme) |
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Non-fatal injuries
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1 wounded (Lisbet Palme) |
| Perpetrators | Unknown |
The assassination of Olof Palme (Swedish: Palmemordet) occurred when Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden, was assassinated on Friday 28 February 1986 in , Sweden, at 23:21 hours Central European Time (22:21 UTC). Palme was fatally wounded by a single gunshot while walking home from a cinema with his wife Lisbet Palme on the central Stockholm street Sveavägen. Mrs Palme was slightly wounded by a second shot. The couple did not have bodyguards at the time.
Christer Pettersson, a substance abuser who previously had been convicted of manslaughter, was convicted of the murder in 1988 after having been identified as the killer by Palme's wife. However, on appeal to Svea Court of Appeal he was acquitted. A petition for a new trial, filed by the prosecutor, was denied by the Supreme Court of Sweden. Pettersson died in late-September 2004, legally declared not guilty of the Palme assassination. The case remains unsolved and has given rise to a number of conspiracy theories.
Despite Olof Palme's position as Prime Minister, he sought to live as ordinary a life as possible. He would often go out without any bodyguard protection and the night of his murder was one such occasion. Walking home from the Grand Cinema with his wife Lisbet Palme on the central Stockholm street Sveavägen, close to midnight on 28 February 1986, the couple were attacked by a lone gunman. Palme was fatally shot in the back at close range at 23:21 CET. A second shot wounded Mrs Palme.
Police said that a taxi driver used his mobile radio to raise the alarm. Two girls sitting in a car close to the scene of the shooting tried to help the prime minister. He was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival at 00:06 CET on 1 March 1986.
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