Norwegian police say at least five people have been killed and several others injured in a shooting by a man in the southeast of the country on Wednesday (October 13th).
Police said the condition of the two injured was reported to be serious, but they did not face death threats. Local police said the suspect had been arrested and, according to initial reports, only one person was involved in the attack. Police say the suspect has been questioned and does not rule out the possibility of a terrorist attack.
Police were notified of the attack at 6:13 p.m. local time, and the suspect was arrested at 6:47 p.m. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a police recruiting center at Kongsberg, killing at least 12 people.
TV2 reported that the suspect was also carrying a knife and other weapons. Meanwhile, local police have asked people to stay in their homes. Police said a helicopter with the Bam neutralization team had also been dispatched to the area. Such attacks are rare in Norway, but in most cases, far-right groups have organized attacks on people in the past.
Anders Bring Breivik, a far-right member, killed 77 people in Norway in two separate attacks on July 22, 2011. Breivik first detonated a bomb in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, near the prime minister’s office, and then shot left-wing youth at a summer camp on the island of Otoya. Philip Mans House, who calls himself the “New Nazi”, opened fire on a mosque near Oslo in August 2019, but no one was seriously injured in the attack.
Before attacking the Muslim Mosque, Mans House shot and killed his half-sister, who had been adopted from China. Prosecutors said Mens House’s action was a “racist act.” During this time, the police foiled several attacks planned by Muslim extremists.
