John Ausonius, the “Laser Man”

John Ausonius, known as the “Laser Man,” carried out a series of racist shootings in Sweden in 1991–1992 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

A campaign of racist violence

Between 1991 and 1992, John Ausonius targeted people of immigrant backgrounds in Stockholm and Uppsala. The early attacks were associated with a rifle fitted with a laser sight, which produced the media nickname “Laser Man.”

A national manhunt

The shootings created widespread fear, particularly among immigrant communities. Police eventually arrested Ausonius during an investigation that also connected him to a series of bank robberies.

Life imprisonment

Ausonius was convicted in Sweden and sentenced to life imprisonment. He later admitted additional attacks. In 2018, a German court also convicted him of the 1992 murder of Holocaust survivor Blanka Zmigrod in Frankfurt and imposed another life sentence.

Beyond one offender

The case is remembered in Sweden as a period when racist violence intersected with political and social tension. Coverage of the case often emphasizes that the victims were selected because of perceived ethnicity or immigrant background, making motive central to understanding the crime spree.