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Oslo shooting: Norway attack being treated as Islamist terrorism, police say | Oslo shooting: Norway attack being treated as Islamist terrorism, police say |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Tributes are being paid at the crime scene in the aftermath of overnight shootings in the centre of Oslo | |
A 42-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorist acts after a shooting in the centre of Norway's capital, Oslo. | A 42-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorist acts after a shooting in the centre of Norway's capital, Oslo. |
Two people were killed and 21 injured, 10 of them seriously, in a busy nightlife district early on Saturday. | |
Police said they consider the attack an act of extreme Islamist terrorism. | Police said they consider the attack an act of extreme Islamist terrorism. |
The victims were shot in and outside the London Pub, a popular LGBTQ+ venue, and near the Herr Nilsen jazz club and another pub. | The victims were shot in and outside the London Pub, a popular LGBTQ+ venue, and near the Herr Nilsen jazz club and another pub. |
The shooting started at about 01:15 local time on Saturday (23:15 GMT Friday), officials said. | |
Eyewitnesses said the suspect took out a gun from his bag and started firing, forcing terrified people to either throw themselves to the ground or flee. | |
The attacker was arrested by police officers - who were helped by bystanders - minutes later. Two weapons were retrieved at the crime scene by police, one of them a fully automatic gun. | |
The authorities later said the suspect was a Norwegian national. | |
The terror alert level in Norway has now been raised to its highest level, though the country's PST intelligence service said it currently had "no indication" further attacks were likely. | |
Oslo's annual gay Pride parade was due to be held on Saturday, and was formally cancelled on police advice. | Oslo's annual gay Pride parade was due to be held on Saturday, and was formally cancelled on police advice. |
But despite that, hundreds of people marched near the scene later in the day, shouting: "We're here, we're queer, we won't disappear!" | But despite that, hundreds of people marched near the scene later in the day, shouting: "We're here, we're queer, we won't disappear!" |
"I think it's fantastic that this march is taking place, otherwise he would have won," one woman in her 50s told AFP news agency. | "I think it's fantastic that this march is taking place, otherwise he would have won," one woman in her 50s told AFP news agency. |
Rainbow flags and flowers were laid near the scene of the attack, which was sealed off by police tape, and bystanders comforted each other with hugs. | Rainbow flags and flowers were laid near the scene of the attack, which was sealed off by police tape, and bystanders comforted each other with hugs. |
The gunman was known to security services since 2015 as a "suspected radicalised Islamist", and had a history of mental illness, Norway's PST intelligence service said. | |
"There is reason to think that this may be a hate crime," police said earlier. "We are investigating whether... Pride was a target in itself or whether there are other motives." | "There is reason to think that this may be a hate crime," police said earlier. "We are investigating whether... Pride was a target in itself or whether there are other motives." |
King Harald, Norway's monarch, said he and his family were "horrified" by the violence. He said "we must stand together" to defend "freedom, diversity and respect for each other". | |
Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called it a "terrible and deeply shocking attack on innocent people". | Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called it a "terrible and deeply shocking attack on innocent people". |
"To all the homosexuals who now are afraid and are in mourning, I say we are all with you," he said on Facebook. | "To all the homosexuals who now are afraid and are in mourning, I say we are all with you," he said on Facebook. |
In the US, the White House said it was horrified by the attack, expressing solidarity with its ally Norway, according to Reuters news agency. | |
Hundreds of people on Saturday marched in Oslo, chanting: "We're here, we're queer, we won't disappear!" | |
Witnesses who were at the London Pub have told how they fled to the basement, where 80 to 100 terrified partygoers were trying to hide. | Witnesses who were at the London Pub have told how they fled to the basement, where 80 to 100 terrified partygoers were trying to hide. |
Bili Blum-Jansen told TV2: "Many called their partners and family, it felt almost as if they were saying goodbye. Others helped calm down those who were extremely terrified." | |
Another survivor told how he was hit by flying glass. | Another survivor told how he was hit by flying glass. |
"I just noticed that a shot was fired, and I was hit by a shard of glass. There were more and more and more shots, so I escaped into the inner bar and tried to get as many as possible with me," he told Norway's public broadcaster NRK. | |
The scene of the attack has been sealed off by police | |
Police are investigating whether Oslo's gay Pride was a target in the attack | |
"I saw a man arrive with a bag, he picked up a gun and started to shoot," said journalist Olav Roenneberg of public broadcaster NRK, who was in the area at the time. | "I saw a man arrive with a bag, he picked up a gun and started to shoot," said journalist Olav Roenneberg of public broadcaster NRK, who was in the area at the time. |
A woman told the Verdens Gang newspaper that the gunman had taken careful aim at his targets. "When I understood that it was serious, I ran. There was a man covered in blood motionless on the floor," she said. | A woman told the Verdens Gang newspaper that the gunman had taken careful aim at his targets. "When I understood that it was serious, I ran. There was a man covered in blood motionless on the floor," she said. |
Another man told the newspaper he had seen a lot of people on the ground with head wounds. | Another man told the newspaper he had seen a lot of people on the ground with head wounds. |