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© Reuters. An arrow left in a wall is seen after a number of individuals had been killed and others had been injured by a person utilizing a bow and arrows to hold out assaults, in Kongsberg, Norway, October 13, 2021. Terje Bendiksby/NTB/by way of REUTERS
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By Victoria Klesty
KONGSBERG, Norway (Reuters) – Police had issues about indicators of radicalisation within the Danish convert to Islam who’s suspected of killing 5 individuals with a bow-and-arrow and different weapons in a Norwegian city, a senior officer mentioned on Thursday.
Flags flew at half mast throughout Kongsberg the place the victims, 4 girls and one man aged between 50 and 70, had been killed. Two individuals, together with an off-duty police officer, had been wounded within the assault on Wednesday night.
Kongsberg resident Markus Kultima, 23, who works in a beer store and lives above the shop, witnessed elements of the assault.
“I noticed a person come strolling with an arrow in his again,” Kultima instructed Reuters. He mentioned it was the off-duty officer who instructed him to go dwelling.
“I needed to stroll within the path the place that man got here from. That was very heavy,” Kultima mentioned.
The 37-year-old suspect was in custody and was believed to have acted alone, police mentioned. His lawyer mentioned he was cooperating with police.
“The occasions at Kongsberg seem for the time being to be an act of terror,” the PST safety police mentioned in a press release, including the investigation will decide the motive.
The suspect, who has not been recognized by police, had transformed to Islam and police had been frightened about indicators of his radicalisation, regional police chief Ole Bredrup Saeverud instructed a information convention.
“Police have beforehand been involved with the person in relation to bother related to radicalisation. We have not registered something with regard to him in 2021, however beforehand,” Saeverud mentioned.
The person may also have a psychiatric analysis, police mentioned. A relative of the suspect, talking on situation of anonymity to Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet, described the person as mentally sick and mentioned the household had suffered threats for a number of years.
The dying toll was the worst of any assault in Norway since 2011, when far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 individuals, most of them youngsters at a youth camp.
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The assaults on Wednesday befell over “a big space” of Kongsberg, a municipality of about 28,000 individuals in southeastern Norway, 68 km (42 miles) from the capital, Oslo. The suspect lives within the city.
Few particulars have thus far emerged about how the incident unfolded or the specifics of the weapons used.
Police have mentioned they acquired stories of a person carrying a bow and arrow at 1612 GMT on Wednesday. He was first noticed by a police unit a couple of minutes later however managed to flee.
The person fired arrows on the police and he was solely apprehended after a hunt of about 35 minutes.
“It’s probably that each one the killings befell after the primary police sighting of him,” Saeverud mentioned.
Photographs from one of many crime scenes confirmed an arrow that gave the impression to be caught within the wall of a wood-panelled constructing.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, on his first day in workplace after profitable an election final month, mentioned: “My first ideas go to Kongsberg, those that a misplaced their lives, those that had been injured and those that stay with the shock.”
The assault additionally highlights shortcomings in Norway’s psychiatric care, Stoere instructed a information convention.
“The final 24 hours have proven that we’ve vital challenges,” he mentioned. “One in 4 or one in 5 who’re referred to (therapy) are being turned down.”
Norway’s royal household expressed their sympathies. King Harald mentioned in a letter to the city’s mayor: “The remainder of the nation stands with you.”
These laying flowers and candles in tribute spoke of their shock in a rustic the place such mass killings are uncommon.
“I need to present my sympathy and empathy to all these affected right here on the town and throughout Norway often because it impacts all of us, no matter who we’re – younger and outdated,” Kongsberg resident Line Leirmo mentioned.
The suspect’s lawyer, Fredrik Neumann, instructed public broadcaster NRK, he was cooperating and giving detailed statements relating to the incident.
Police legal professional Ann Iren Svane Mathiassen instructed information company NTB he had implicated himself within the assaults, however had not entered a plea.
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