2 dead in Oslo shooting, Islamist terror act likely
Oslo, June 25: A gunman opened fire in Oslo’s night-life district early on Saturday, killing two people and leaving more than 20 wounded in what Norwegian security service called an “Islamist terror act” during the capital’s annual Pride festival.
Investigators said the suspect, identified as a 42year-old Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, was arrested after opening fire at three locations in downtown Oslo. The PST security service raised its terror alert level from “moderate” to “extraordinary” — the highest level — after the attack, which sent panicked revellers fleeing into the streets or trying to hide from the gunman.
PST acting chief Roger Berg called the attack an “extreme Islamist terror act” and said the suspect had a “long history of violence and threats” as well as mental health issues.
He said PST first became aware of the suspect in 2015 and later became concerned that he had become radicalised and was part of an unspecified Islamist network.
Upon the advice of police, organisers cancelled a Pride parade that was set for Saturday as the highlight of a weeklong festival. One of the shootings happened outside the London Pub, a bar popular with the city’s LGBTQ community, just hours before the parade was set to begin.
Police attorney Christian Hatlo said the suspect was being held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and terrorism, based on the number of people targeted at multiple locations.
“Our overall assessment is that there are grounds to believe that he wanted to cause grave fear in the population,” Hatlo said.
Police said 10 people were being treated for serious injuries, but none of them was believed to be in life-threatening condition. Eleven other people had minor injuries.
Olav Roenneberg, a journalist from Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, said he witnessed the shooting. “I saw a man arrive at the site with a bag. He picked up a weapon and started shooting,” Roenneberg said.