It is an unusual attack, in a country known to be peaceful. A man attacked several residents of Kongsberg, Norway with a bow on the evening of Wednesday, October 13. Five people died and two were injured. The only suspect, a 37-year-old Danish convert to Islam and known to the police, was arrested. This event “has the appearance of a terrorist act at this stage”, according to the Norwegian security services, “but the investigation will shed more light on what motivated him”. Here is what we know about this attack.
The attack took place in the early evening
It was just 6 p.m. when a man armed with a bow and arrows shot through the streets of Kongsberg, a town of nearly 25,000 people about 80 kilometers from Oslo in the south-eastern part of the country. Norway.
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Interviewed by TV2 television, Hansine, a woman who partially witnessed the attack, said she heard a noise and saw a woman take cover. She also saw “a man around the corner with arrows in a quiver on his shoulder and a bow in his hand”. “Afterwards, I saw people running for their lives. One of them was a woman holding a child by the hand,” she testified. The press published photos of black arrows, visibly competitive, lying on the ground or, for one of them, firmly embedded in a wall.
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The inhabitants were called to stay at home. Several neighborhoods were cordoned off, with television footage showing a large deployment of armed police forces and ambulances. A helicopter and a team of deminers were also dispatched. The Norwegian Police Directorate has decided that officers, who are usually unarmed, will carry weapons on a temporary basis across the country.
“Given the unfolding of the facts, it is natural to assess whether it is a terrorist attack”, the local police official added on Wednesday evening. “It is too early to comment on his motives”, he added, while the suspect had not yet been heard.
Five people died and two were injured
The attack took place in several places, in a large area of Kongsberg, and in particular in a supermarket. A total of five people were killed, according to local police official Øyvind Aas, who also reported two injuries, including an off-duty policeman who was in the supermarket.
The two injured were hospitalized in critical care units but, according to Øyvind Aas, there is no indication that their lives are in danger. The head of the local police did not give details of the profile of the five victims.
The suspect is a Danish convert to Islam and known to the Norwegian police
Informed at 6:13 p.m., the police finally arrested a man at 6:47 p.m. He is a 37-year-old Danish citizen residing in Kongsberg. “We decided to confirm this information because many rumors are circulating on social networks around the perpetrator of the attack, some [mettant en cause] persons having no connection with the serious acts committed “, local police said. No other suspect is actively sought.
Heard by investigators during the night, the man must be brought before a judge during the day with a view to his remand in custody. According to his lawyer, Fredrik Neumann, he is cooperative. “He explains himself in detail and he speaks and cooperates well with the police”, he told reporters. According to the TV2 channel, the suspect admitted the facts.
Norwegian police now believe the attack has “the appearances of a terrorist act “. She confirmed Thursday morning information given by the television channel: the suspect is converted to Islam. THEthe police added that they had been in contact with this man for “fears of radicalization”. These fears, which have been followed up, date back to 2020 and before, Norwegian police official Ole Bredrup Saeverud said at a press briefing.