Clark Olofsson, the infamous Swedish criminal whose involvement in a 1973 bank robbery gave rise to the term “Stockholm syndrome”, has died at the age of 78 following a prolonged illness, his family announced through online media.
Olofsson gained international notoriety after participating in a six-day hostage situation at a bank in Stockholm.
During the standoff, the hostages began to empathize with Olofsson and his accomplice, even defending them and showing increasing hostility toward the police negotiators.
The incident later became the basis for the psychological concept known as Stockholm syndrome—a condition in which captives develop emotional bonds with their captors.
His death marks the end of a life both notorious and influential in criminal psychology.