Armed man steals ambulance and drives into crowd – two babies injured
An armed man who stole an ambulance in Oslo, Norway injured five people, including two babies, when he drove onto a footpath and hit a family.
Authorities said the 32-year-old man, believed to be connected to a neo-Nazi group, was apprehended after local police shot at the vehicle, adding the suspect was not critically injured.
"Two babies were injured after the hijacked ambulance hit a family. They are twins, seven months old, they are being treated," Oslo University hospital spokesman Anders Bayer told Reuters on Tuesday (local time).
Inside the stolen ambulance, police found an Uzi submachine gun, a shotgun and what they said were “large amounts” of narcotics.
Suspected terror attack foiled
“It is too early to say whether this is terror-related, but we are investigating broadly and fully,” The Oslo police department said in a statement.
Police did not identify the man by name but Investigator Grete Lier Mettid said the suspect was known to have had ties to far-right groups.
“It is, however, too early to say anything about the motive,” Mr Lier Mettid told a news conference in the Norwegian capital.
The yellow-and-blue ambulance was stolen after authorities responded to a traffic accident on an Oslo traffic circle in which a car had turned over.
The man left the crash site on foot and pointed a weapon at police officers before leaving the scene in the stolen ambulance.
A 25-year-old woman who was a passenger in the overturned car was later arrested.
Mr Lier Mettid told media both the man and the woman were known to police.
Three employees in ambulance when stolen
Anders Bayer, a spokesman for Oslo University Hospital, confirmed to Norwegian news agency NTB that the three employees in the ambulance when it was stolen were not injured.
"They were called to an ordinary traffic accident where they were met by the armed person," Mr Bayer said, adding that the hospital had quickly tracked the ambulance via its built-in GPS device.
"Some minutes later, one of our other ambulances managed to stop the hijacked vehicle by crashing into it. Then the police came after the crash and got him," he said.
Public broadcaster NRK showed images of an ambulance driving in the Torshov neighbourhood of Oslo while several gunshots rang out.
The Aftenposten newspaper published a photo showing a man wearing green trousers lying next to the vehicle surrounded by police officers.
Another photo in the daily showed a handcuffed man, flanked by police, walking toward an ambulance stretcher.
A witness told the newspaper that the ambulance was driving at high speed followed by a police car in pursuit.
“I heard several shots,” Omar Khatujev told Aftenposten.
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