Armed man steals ambulance, injures three in Norway

COPENHAGEN: An armed Norwegian man stole an ambulance and drove it along a sidewalk in Oslo on Tuesday, injuring two toddlers as police tried to stop him by shooting at the tires and ramming the vehicle. The 32-year-old man was injured and arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, authorities said.

Inside the stolen ambulance, police found an Uzi submachine gun, a shotgun and what they said were “large amounts” of narcotics. “It is too early to say whether this is terror-related, but we are investigating broadly and fully,” police said.

Investigator Grete Lier Mettid said the suspect was known to have had ties to farright groups. Police did not identify the man by name. “It is, however, too early to say anything about the motive,” Lier Mettid told. Johan Fredriksen, a senior police officer, said the ambulance ran into a stroller carrying two seven-month old twins, though they were not believed to be seriously injured. An elderly couple who dived under a parked car to avoid the ambulance escaped injury. Police shot at the tires to stop the ambulance and did not target the man, Fredriksen said. The vehicle stopped after being rammed by police.

A video posted by Norwegian media showed how police pulled the man out of the ambulance through the side window because the front door had been damaged when it collided with obstacles, including a road sign. The yellow-and-blue ambulance was stolen after authorities responded to a traffic accident on an Oslo traffic circle in which a car had turned over.