A man in Norway allegedly carried out a deadly bow-and-arrow attack on a small Norwegian town killing at least five innocents and wounding two.
Police chief Ole B Saeverud said, “There earlier had been worries of the man having been radicalised.”
The attack took place on Wednesday evening in the town of Kongsberg, which lies about 68km (42 miles) southwest of the capital, Oslo.
Police said that the suspect, who walked around the city shooting people with arrows, is believed to have been acting alone.
The suspect walked around the city shooting people with arrows, He was arrested 20 minutes after the attack began and is now in the custody of Norwegian police. The authorities said that they will investigate whether the attack amounted to “terrorism”.
Police Chief Oyvind Aas said, “Given how events unfolded, it is natural to assess whether this is a terrorist attack. The arrested man has not been interviewed and it is too early to say anything about his motives.”
Prime Minister Erna Solberg said that the reports from Kongsberg were “horrifying”.
Police said that the violence took place over “a large area” of Kongsberg, which is home to about 28,000 people adding that the suspect had been taken to a police station in the nearby town of Drammen.
Police ordered to carry firearms
After the assault, the police directorate said that it had immediately ordered officers nationwide to carry firearms. Norwegian police are usually unarmed, but officers have access to guns and rifles when needed.
In a statement the Director said, “This is an extra precaution and the police have no indication so far that there is a change in the national threat level.”
The public was urged to stay home and several neighborhoods were cordoned off, with television footage showing ambulances and armed police in the area. A helicopter and bomb disposal team were also sent to the scene.
Public broadcaster NRK’s website published an image sent by a witness of a black arrow sticking out of a wall.
Although armed violence is rare in Norway, the country has suffered far-right attacks in the past.
Earlier on 22 July 2011, Anders Behring Breivik carried out twin attacks that killed 77 people. Breivik first set off a bomb in the capital Oslo next to the building that housed the prime minister’s office, then went on a shooting spree at a summer camp for left-wing youths on the island of Utoya.
In August 2019, a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi Philip Manshaus opened fire on the Oslo’s peripheries before being caught by the worshippers. While no one was seriously injured, he had earlier shot dead his stepsister, who had been adopted from China.
