Police said Thursday that a Danish man accused of killing five people and wounding two more in a bow-and-arrow attack in a small Norwegian town is a Muslim convert who had previously been recognized as an extremist.
On Wednesday evening, the individual is suspected of shooting at people in a number of spots throughout Kongsberg. According to the police, several of the victims were in a store.
“There had been concerns that the man was radicalized,” police head Ole B. Saeverud said at a press conference. He went on to say that there were “complex assessments connected to the motive,” and that “clarification will take time.” He didn’t go into detail about what it meant to be radicalized.
The most recent complaint of worry, according to Saeverud, came last year.
According to Saeverud, the victims were four ladies and one guy between the ages of 50 and 70.
A man shooting arrows in Kongsberg, 66 kilometers (41 miles) southwest of Oslo, was reported to police at 6:12 p.m. on Wednesday. Officers made contact with the suspect, but he managed to flee and wasn’t apprehended until 6:47 p.m., according to Saeverud.
Officials believe the attacker did not begin killing anybody until the cops came.
“From what we know today, it appears that some, if not all, of the victims, were slain after police made contact with the culprit,” Saeverud said.
“I did this,” the suspect replied calmly and coherently after his detention, according to Ann Iren Svane Mathiassen, the police attorney in charge of the investigation.
“He spoke calmly and concisely about what he had done. She told reporters, “He admitted killing the five people.”
According to eyewitnesses, the rampage occurred in full view of scores of witnesses in this small town, which is now in hushed disbelief. According to Svane Mathiassen, police have already spoken to between 20 and 30 witnesses who observed the perpetrator wound and kill his victims.
“There have been reports of him being seen throughout the city before the murders. That’s when he started injuring individuals, according to Svane Mathiassen.
According to sources, Erik Benum, who lives on the same street as the store that was one of the crime scenes, witnessed the escaping shop workers hiding in doorways.
“I noticed them in the corner.” Then I went to check what was going on, and I noticed police officers with shields and rifles moving in. It was an unusual sight.”
According to him, the town was unnaturally quiet the next morning. “People are saddened and surprised.”
The killer’s armory included more than simply a bow and arrows. Police are still investigating what additional weapons he may have used. To assist with the investigation, weapons experts and other technical officials are being called in.
Both of the hospitalized victims are in critical condition. An off-duty police officer who was inside the premises was among them. Their condition was unknown at the time.
Preliminary charges have been filed against the suspect, which are a step before official charges. He is believed to have acted alone, according to police.
“It goes without saying that this is a very serious and widespread crisis that impacts Kongsberg and its residents,” police spokesman Oeyvind Aas said earlier.
The suspect had already been convicted of burglary and drug possession, according to Norwegian media, and a local court had issued a restraining order directing him to stay away from his parents for six months after he threatened to kill one of them last year. It was unclear whether it was prolonged, according to the VG newspaper.
The attack was described as “horrific” by newly appointed Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere.
“This is unbelievable.” “In reality, five people have been killed, many more have been hurt, and many more are in shock,” Gahr Stoere told Norwegian radio NRK.
Norwegian King Harald V remarked in a statement to the mayor of Kongsberg that people have “experienced that their safe local surroundings suddenly became a deadly area.” When dreadful things happen close to us, when you least expect it, in the middle of normal life on the open street, it disturbs us all.”
On Twitter, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his astonishment and sadness over the dreadful news from Norway.
The major church in Kongsberg, a tiny town with a population of about 26,000 people, was available to anyone in need of assistance.
“I don’t believe anyone anticipates having these kinds of experiences. But nobody could have predicted this in our small community,” parish priest Reidar Aasboe told reporters.
