Norway: Deadly bow-and-arrow attack act of terror: Norwegian police
News from Agencies: A bow-and-arrow attack that killed five people near the Norwegian town of Kongsberg Wednesday was labeled an act of terrorism, Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) said Thursday.
Four women and a man — all between the ages of 50 and 70 — were killed. Two people, including an off-duty police officer, were injured.
A statement by the PST said the attack was categorized as a terror act, for now, and it underlined that there is no high threat in the country.
“The events in Kongsberg currently appear to be an act of terror, but the investigation… will determine in closer detail what the acts were motivated by,” PST said in a statement.
It added that the attacker was known to police and had a criminal record.
The 37-year-old “radicalized” attacker went on a rampage near Kongsberg, security officials confirmed.
Espen Andersen Bråthen, Danish citizen was arrested half an hour after the attack and was charged with murder.
At an earlier press conference on Thursday, the police said that they had been in contact with the man previously over their fears he had been radicalised and confirmed he had converted to Islam.
“We’re talking about a convert to Islam,” Norwegian police official Ole Bredrup Saeverud told reporters on Thursday, adding: “There were fears linked to radicalisation previously.”
Norwegian public broadcaster NRK are reporting that the man has previously been convicted of burglary and purchasing a small quantity of hashish. The media outlet have also reported that the man was handed a restraining order last year. These reports have not been confirmed by Norwegian police.
Police now think he acted alone and that it was “natural to evaluate whether this was an act of terror,” Kongsberg Police Chief Øyvind Aas said at a press conference Wednesday night.
[Map of Norway. Placed into the public domain by its author, E Pluribus Anthony]
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