A little more is known about the archery attack that left five dead, four women and a man aged 50 to 70, in Kongsberg, south-eastern Norway. Police presented the alleged perpetrator as a 37-year-old Danish convert to Islam, whom they had followed in 2020 and before for “fears of radicalization”. Arrested shortly after the facts, the man would have acted alone according to Ole Bredrup Saeverud, the head of the Norwegian police.
His motives, however, have not yet been determined, although the suspect is cooperative according to his lawyer. According to the TV2 channel, he even admitted the facts. However, the qualification of a terrorist attack has still not been established by the authorities. Gray areas also surround the course of the attack, with an unusual modus operandi. It took place in a large area of Kongsberg, a small town 80km from Oslo, including a supermarket. A woman, Hansine, who partially witnessed the attack, told TV2 that she heard a commotion and saw a woman taking cover as well as “a man around the corner with arrows in a quiver on the shoulder and a bow in the hand ”.
The day of the change of government
The press published photos of black arrows, visibly competitive, lying on the ground or, for one of them, firmly embedded in a wall. Police say the suspect also used other weapons, the nature of which has not been specified. In response to this attack, the usually unarmed Norwegian police will temporarily carry weapons throughout the country.
The timing should also be noted, since the attack occurred on the last day of the mandate of Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who is due to hand over the reins this Thursday to a new center-left government. Usually very peaceful Norway has seen two far-right attacks in the past decade, including the deadly attack by Anders Breivik.