Norway bow and arrow attack - live: Man accused of killing five ‘had shown signs of radicalisation’
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Your support makes all the difference.Police in Norway have confirmed the man charged with killing five people and injuring two others in a bow and arrow attack was a Muslim convert it was previously concerned about over signs of radicalisation.
"There earlier had been worries of the man having been radicalised," Police chief Ole B Saeverud told a press conference.
The man, who was not further identified, has confessed to going on a rampage in Kongsberg, southwest of the capital Oslo, prosecutor Ann Iren Svane Matthiassen said, adding he was was questioned overnight.
The victims were four women and one man between the ages of 50 and 70, Saeverud added. The man is suspected of having shot at people in a number of locations in the town of Kongsberg on Wednesday evening
In a statement, police said the suspect is a 37-year-old Danish citizen who lives in Kongsberg.
Police prosecutor Ann Irén Svane Mathiassen said other weapons were used during the incident, without giving additional details of the weapons, Norwegian news agency NTB was told.
Suspect was known to police, prosecutors say
Police prosecutor Ann Irén Svane Mathiassen told local news station TV2 that the suspect of the bow and arrow attack was known to police.
The suspect’s defence lawyer, Fredrik Neumann said he was cooperating with authorities and was questioned for more than three hours.
He added that the suspect has a danish mother and Norwegian father.
Police confirm knife also used in attack, reports say
Other weapons including knives were used by the suspect, Konsberg based reporter Thea Odegarden has said.
Speaking on Sky News the reporter stated police had confirmed the attacker used other weapons in addition to the widely reported bow and arrow.
Police are investigating whether the attack is terrorism related
A police spokesman has confirmed that it is investigating whether the attack was terror related.
The attacker is said to have launched the assault inside a Coop Extra supermarket in Kongsberg, south of Norway.
One witness told local outlet TV2 she had heard a commotion and seen a woman taking cover, then a “man standing on the corner with arrows in a quiver on his shoulder and a bow in his hand”.
Local police have cordoned off large parts of the town.
Two people in intensive care
Two people are still in intensive care following the attack in Norway which has left five dead. One of those receiving urgent care is an off-duty police officer, Øyvind Aas the police chief in Kongsberg has confirmed.
The chief also confirmed that the alleged attacker “ is the only person implicated” in the incident.
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert uses Norway bow and arrow attack to argue against gun control
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert has used the Norway bow and arrow attack to argue against gun control in the United States.
Hours after at least five people were killed and two were injured in the attack, the second amendment advocate said it showed gun control laws would not prevent mass killings.
Ms Boebert said: “A man in Norway just killed a bunch of people with a bow and arrow. Norway has some of the strictest gun laws around, yet mass killings still occur. Liberals need to understand it is not the gun - it is the criminal who commits the act!”
Our reporter Justin Vallejo has the full story below:
Lauren Boebert uses mass killing in Norway to argue against gun restrictions in US
The unrelated hashtag #LaurenBoebertIsSoDumb trended on Twitter
Police: Arrested Danish suspect giving detailed account
A 37-year-old Danish man has been arrested and charged with the killing of five people and injuring two others in the Norwegian town of Kongsberg in Norway on Wednesday night, police said.
“He is cooperating and is giving detailed statements regarding this event,” suspect’s defence lawyer Fredrik Neumann told public broadcaster NRK on Thursday.
An off-duty police officer who was at the location of the crime was among those injured as the attacker fired arrows at people while walking across different locations over more than half an hour, covering a “large area” of Kongsberg. Targets included a Coop Extra grocery store, the Aftenposten newspaper cited police as saying.
“The police are giving this information because of all the rumours on social media regarding people who are not linked to these very serious acts,” police said in a statement in which they gave the suspect’s nationality but did not reveal his identity.
The police have confirmed nothing about the motive of the attacks but said the suspect was believed to have been acting alone.
A woman living near the grocery store said she had heard alarms as she was walking home. “I saw a group of police officers, including one who held several arrows in his hand,” the woman, Marit Hoefle, told newspaper.
Investigators did not rule out considering the attacks an act of terrorism, and said they would release more detailed information later on Thursday.
They are also investigating if any other weapon was used in the attacks, but confirmed that a bow and arrow was used for most of the killings.
Images from one of the crime scenes showed an arrow stuck in the wood-panelling of a building.
Eyewitness says attacker stood with arrows in a quiver
An eyewitness has told local outlet TV2 that she saw people running around and a woman taking cover, according to AFP news agency.
She said she saw a “man standing on the corner with arrows in a quiver on his shoulder and a bow in his hand.”
“Afterwards, I saw people running for their lives. One of them was a woman holding a child by the hand,” the eyewitness said.
Suspect 'a 37-year-old Dane'
The suspect arrested over the killings is a 37-year-old Danish citizen who had been living in Kongsberg, police said, according to the NTB news agency.
The defence counsel of the alleged attacker said that the accused is cooperating with the police and explained in detail about what happened.
The attacker “acted alone” and there are several crime scenes in a large area as the perpetrator walked around during the attack, police said.
At least five people have been killed and others injured by a man using a bow and arrows to carry out attacks in a Norwegian town, police have said.
Officers said a suspect had been detained following the incident in Kongsberg on Wednesday and that a probe was underway to establish whether the attack amounted to an act of terrorism.
“The man used a bow and arrow ... for some of the attacks,” police chief Oeyvind Aas told reporters on Wednesday. Officers were investigating whether other weapons had also been used, he said.
Tom Ambrose has the details.
Five dead and more injured by man with bow and arrows in Norway
At least five people have been killed and others injured by a man using a bow and arrows to carry out attacks in a Norwegian town, police have said.
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