2 people killed, 10 injured in gun attack on Oslo gay bar, Iranian citizen arrested

OSLO, Norway (AP) – Early on Saturday morning, a gunman opened fire in Oslo’s nightclub area, killing two and 10 at the annual Pride Parade festival in Norway’s capital, Norway, as police are investigating a possible terrorist attack. also seriously injured.

Investigators said the suspect, identified as a 42-year-old Norwegian national of Iranian descent, was arrested after gunfire broke out at three points in Oslo city centre.

Although the reason is unclear, Oslo Pride organizers canceled the parade, which was scheduled for Saturday, at the end of the week-long celebration. One of the attacks took place in front of a London pub popular with the city’s LGBT community, hours before the parade began.

Police lawyer Christian Hatlo said the suspect was detained on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and terrorism, based on the number of people followed in multiple locations.

“Our overall analysis has reason to believe it wants to create intense fear in the population,” said Khatlo.

Khatlo said the suspect’s mental health was also being investigated.

“We need to look at his medical history if he has it. It’s not something we know anymore,” he said.

The armed attack, which took place at around 01:00 local time, caused crowds to run through the streets or try to hide from the militant.

Olav Rönneberg, a journalist for Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, said he witnessed the shooting.

“I saw a man come to the scene with a briefcase. He took a gun and started shooting,” Renneberg told NRK. “At first I thought it was an air pistol. Then the glass shattered at a nearby bar and I knew I had to run to intervene. ”

Police Inspector Tore Soldal said two of the victims shot died and 10 were treated with serious injuries, but none of them were life-threatening.

“The shooting outside a London bar tonight in Oslo was a brutal and shocking attack on innocent people,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoer said in a Facebook post.

While the reason is not clear, she said the shooting caused fear and sadness in the LGBT community.

“We all support you,” Gar Stoer wrote.

Christian Bredely, who was at the bar, told Norwegian newspaper VG that he was hiding on the fourth floor with a group of about 10 until he was told it was safe to go out.

“Many feared for their lives,” he said. “We saw injuries on the way out, so we knew it was something serious.”

Norwegian broadcaster TV2 broadcast footage of people fleeing in fear with gunfire in the background on the streets of Oslo.

Investigators said the suspect was recognized by the police and the Norwegian Security Police, but was not involved in a serious violent crime. According to Khatlo, his criminal record includes drug-related offenses and a firearm-related offense for carrying a knife.

Khatlo said police confiscated two types of weapons following the attack: pistols and assault rifles, both of which he described as “old-fashioned” without explanation.

He said that the suspect did not give any statements to the police and that he had spoken to his defense attorney.

Khatlo said it was too early to say whether the attacker targeted members of the LGBT community.

“We have to look at it, we don’t know yet,” he said.

However, police advised Pride Festival organizers to cancel Saturday’s parade.

“This is why Oslo Pride urges anyone who plans to attend or watch the parade to stay out of here. All events related to Oslo Pride have been cancelled, the organizers said on the event’s official Facebook page.

Norway has a relatively low crime rate, but has faced brutal attacks from the far-right; this includes one of the worst shooting attacks in Europe in 2011, in which a gunman killed 69 people on the island of Utøya after detonating a bomb to leave Oslo in 2011. eight were dead.

In 2019, another right-wing extremist killed his father’s sister and then fired a bullet at a mosque, but was cornered before anyone was injured there.

A man with Allahu Akbar’s knife was shot in Oslo in 2019 https://t.co/KaN0z4yMng

– Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) 11 November 2021