A man wielding a bow and arrow killed five people and injured two more in a town outside the Norwegian capital, police said Wednesday, in an attack the acting prime minister described as both “gruesome” and “horrific.”
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Law enforcement officials in Kongsberg, about 50 miles southwest of Oslo, said a 37-year-old suspect was arrested after a confrontation with police. The arrested man was a Danish citizen who lived in the area, police said.
He appeared to be acting alone, regional Police Chief Oeyvind Aas told reporters Wednesday night, adding that it was “too early” to determine a motive.
But, he said, “considering the course of events, it is natural to ask whether this is a terrorist incident.”
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In a statement late Wednesday, police said they released some personal details about the suspect because of rumors circulating on social media about possible perpetrators who were not actually involved.
Police chief Oeyvdind Aas on Oct. 13 said a man armed with a bow and arrow killed and injured several people in Kongsberg, Norway. (The Washington Post)
The attacks began shortly after 6 p.m. in Norway, according to police and local media reports, and took place over a “large area” in Kongsberg, including a Coop Extra supermarket on the town’s west side.
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Police supported by helicopters and bomb squads descended on the midsized town and ordered people to stay inside, arresting the alleged attacker about 30 minutes after the rampage began. The first police reports came in at 6.13 p.m., and it “took some time” from when the first officers were on-site before the man was arrested at 6.47 p.m. He had been moving around the town center armed with a bow and arrow, police said.
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Five people were confirmed killed and two injured, including an off-duty police officer who was inside a shop at the time of the attack, Aas said.
Justice Minister Monica M？land said all Norwegian police were temporarily ordered to carry arms Wednesday night. Norway’s public broadcaster NRK reported that police had cordoned off an area in central Kongsberg and that the suspect was transferred to a precinct in the city of Drammen, about 25 miles to the east.
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“The perpetrator has carried out horrific acts against several people,” acting prime minister Erna Solberg said at a news conference, calling the attack “gruesome.”
The incoming prime minister, Jonas Gahr Stoere, also said the assault was “a cruel and brutal act.”
Wednesday’s death toll is Norway’s worst since 2011, when Anders Behring Breivik, a right-wing extremist, killed 77 people in a bomb and mass shooting attack.
He is serving Norway’s maximum sentence of 21 years, which can be extended indefinitely.