Norway bow and arrow attack - live: Man accused of killing five ‘had shown signs of radicalisation’

Police in Norway have confirmed the man charged with killing five people and injuring two others in a bow and arrow attack was a Muslim convert it was previously concerned about over signs of radicalisation.

"There earlier had been worries of the man having been radicalised," Police chief Ole B Saeverud told a press conference.

The man, who was not further identified, has confessed to going on a rampage in Kongsberg, southwest of the capital Oslo, prosecutor Ann Iren Svane Matthiassen said, adding he was was questioned overnight.

The victims were four women and one man between the ages of 50 and 70, Saeverud added. The man is suspected of having shot at people in a number of locations in the town of Kongsberg on Wednesday evening

In a statement, police said the suspect is a 37-year-old Danish citizen who lives in Kongsberg.

Police prosecutor Ann Irén Svane Mathiassen said other weapons were used during the incident, without giving additional details of the weapons, Norwegian news agency NTB was told.

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Norway attack: Several dead and more injured by man with bow and arrows in Kongsberg

Key Points

• Norway attack suspect ‘had shown signs of radicalisation’ police say

• Police confirm other weapons used in the attack

• Man charged in connection to bow and arrow attack

• Norway attack: Several dead and more injured by man with bow and arrows in Kongsberg

• Norway arms all police officers after attack

• Mayor reacts to ‘gruesome’ bow and arrow attack

Live updates will be paused

12:22 , Thomas Kingsley

Thank you for following The Independent’s live updates on the Norway bow and arrow attacks. Updates will be paused to be resumed at a later time.

Investigations into the attack are ongoing.

‘Possible’ that all killings happened after police arrived on the scene of the attack

11:44 , Thomas Kingsley

Kongsberg police has said that it’s “reasonably clear” that some of the killings took place after the police confronted the suspect.

They added that it was “possible” all the killings took place after the initial confrontation where the suspect escaped police detainment.

Police were alerted of reports that a man was shooting a bow and arrow at people at 6.12pm and subsequently made contact with the attacker at 6.18pm. Officers were then shot by several arrows, causing them to lose contact with the attacker who was able to get away.

29 minutes after the initial confrontation, police apprehended the attacker and arrested him at 6.47pm.

Victims not formally identified, police say

11:17 , Thomas Kingsley

According to Kongsberg police, the five victims of the attack on Wednesday evening have not yet been formally identified, but relatives have been notified “as a reservation.”

Police chief Ole Bredrup Saeverud said officers are still investigating the incident and currently believe there is no one else connected with the attack.

‘It feels weird, unreal’ says Kongsberg resident following attack

10:45 , Thomas Kingsley

Silje Limstrand, a 22-year-old kindergarten employee was on her way to Coop supermarket on Wednesday evening, the location where the attack started reportedly, when police stopped her from going further due to the attack.

"It feels weird, unreal. Kongsberg is a small town where you feel so safe ... It is scary," she said, adding she had not seen the suspect of any of his victims.

"It's scary to think that I was there at the same time as the suspect," she told Reuters.

4 women among victims of Norway bow and arrow attack

10:24 , Thomas Kingsley

Police confirmed that four women and a man were among the victims of the Norway bow and arrow attack.

The ages of all the victims were between 50 and 70-years-old.

The man, who was not further identified, has confessed to going on a rampage in Kongsberg, southwest of the capital Oslo, prosecutor Ann Iren Svane Matthiassen said, adding he was was questioned overnight.

Kongsberg church opens doors to public following attack

10:08 , Thomas Kingsley

Kongsberg church has announced it has opened its doors to the public following the bow and arrow attacks in the city on Wednesday.

“The church will be open from 9.00am for everyone who needs someone to talk to, be with, light a candle, or just be quiet,” the church wrote on its Facebook page.

Parish priest Reidar Aasbø the news adding: “The entire Kongsberg community is affected by this. Now, we’ll stand together and take care of each other,” the church wrote on its website.

BREAKING: Suspect in bow-and-arrow killings had shown signs of radicalisation, police say

09:47 , Thomas Kingsley

A Danish man who is in custody in Norway suspected of carrying out a bow-and-arrow attack which killed five people is a Muslim convert who had previously been flagged as having being radicalised, police said.

“There earlier had been worries of the man having been radicalised,” Police chief Ole B Saeverud told a press conference.

Our reporter Thomas Kingsley has the full story:

Norway attack suspect had been radicalised, say police

Police prosecutor confirms several weapons were used in attack

09:12 , Thomas Kingsley

Police prosecutor Ann Irén Svane Mathiassen confirmed that other weapons were used during the incident, without giving additional details of the weapons, Norwegian news agency NTB were told.

Police said they confirmed information about the suspect because of “rumours circulating on social media about possible perpetrators.”

Attack is worst in Norway since 2011

08:48 , Thomas Kingsley

The bow and arrow attack is Norway’s deadliest since far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 people on the island of Utoya in July 2011.

Most of the victims were at a children’s Labour Party summer camp on the island.

Police have confirmed that they are investigating whether this attack is linked to terrorism.

Man charged in connection to bow and arrow killings

08:31 , Thomas Kingsley

A man has been charged with the killing of five people and injuring two others with a bow and arrow.

In a statement, police said the suspect is a 37-year-old Danish citizen who lives in Kongsberg. No other details were released.

The suspect was apprehended after the attack on Wednesday night in the town, which is 50 miles south-west of the country’s capital, Oslo.

Our reporter Thomas Kingsley has the full report:

Danish man charged after five killed in bow and arrow attack in Norway

Suspect was known to police, prosecutors say

08:21 , Thomas Kingsley

Police prosecutor Ann Irén Svane Mathiassen told local news station TV2 that the suspect of the bow and arrow attack was known to police.

The suspect’s defence lawyer, Fredrik Neumann said he was cooperating with authorities and was questioned for more than three hours.

He added that the suspect has a danish mother and Norwegian father.

Police confirm knife also used in attack, reports say

08:11 , Thomas Kingsley

Other weapons including knives were used by the suspect, Konsberg based reporter Thea Odegarden has said.

Speaking on Sky News the reporter stated police had confirmed the attacker used other weapons in addition to the widely reported bow and arrow.

Police are investigating whether the attack is terrorism related

07:47 , Thomas Kingsley

A police spokesman has confirmed that it is investigating whether the attack was terror related.

The attacker is said to have launched the assault inside a Coop Extra supermarket in Kongsberg, south of Norway.

One witness told local outlet TV2 she had heard a commotion and seen a woman taking cover, then a “man standing on the corner with arrows in a quiver on his shoulder and a bow in his hand”.

Local police have cordoned off large parts of the town.

Two people in intensive care

07:30 , Thomas Kingsley

Two people are still in intensive care following the attack in Norway which has left five dead. One of those receiving urgent care is an off-duty police officer, Øyvind Aas the police chief in Kongsberg has confirmed.

The chief also confirmed that the alleged attacker “ is the only person implicated” in the incident.

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert uses Norway bow and arrow attack to argue against gun control

07:15 , Thomas Kingsley

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert has used the Norway bow and arrow attack to argue against gun control in the United States.

Hours after at least five people were killed and two were injured in the attack, the second amendment advocate said it showed gun control laws would not prevent mass killings.

Ms Boebert said: “A man in Norway just killed a bunch of people with a bow and arrow. Norway has some of the strictest gun laws around, yet mass killings still occur. Liberals need to understand it is not the gun - it is the criminal who commits the act!”

Our reporter Justin Vallejo has the full story below:

Lauren Boebert uses mass killing in Norway to argue against gun restrictions in US

Police: Arrested Danish suspect giving detailed account

06:57 , Shweta Sharma

A 37-year-old Danish man has been arrested and charged with the killing of five people and injuring two others in the Norwegian town of Kongsberg in Norway on Wednesday night, police said.

“He is cooperating and is giving detailed statements regarding this event,” suspect’s defence lawyer Fredrik Neumann told public broadcaster NRK on Thursday.

An off-duty police officer who was at the location of the crime was among those injured as the attacker fired arrows at people while walking across different locations over more than half an hour, covering a “large area” of Kongsberg. Targets included a Coop Extra grocery store, the Aftenposten newspaper cited police as saying.

“The police are giving this information because of all the rumours on social media regarding people who are not linked to these very serious acts,” police said in a statement in which they gave the suspect’s nationality but did not reveal his identity.

The police have confirmed nothing about the motive of the attacks but said the suspect was believed to have been acting alone.

A woman living near the grocery store said she had heard alarms as she was walking home. “I saw a group of police officers, including one who held several arrows in his hand,” the woman, Marit Hoefle, told newspaper.

Investigators did not rule out considering the attacks an act of terrorism, and said they would release more detailed information later on Thursday.

They are also investigating if any other weapon was used in the attacks, but confirmed that a bow and arrow was used for most of the killings.

Images from one of the crime scenes showed an arrow stuck in the wood-panelling of a building.

Eyewitness says attacker stood with arrows in a quiver

05:06 , Shweta Sharma

An eyewitness has told local outlet TV2 that she saw people running around and a woman taking cover, according to AFP news agency.

She said she saw a “man standing on the corner with arrows in a quiver on his shoulder and a bow in his hand.”

“Afterwards, I saw people running for their lives. One of them was a woman holding a child by the hand,” the eyewitness said.

Suspect 'a 37-year-old Dane'

04:41 , Shweta Sharma

The suspect arrested over the killings is a 37-year-old Danish citizen who had been living in Kongsberg, police said, according to the NTB news agency.

The defence counsel of the alleged attacker said that the accused is cooperating with the police and explained in detail about what happened.

The attacker “acted alone” and there are several crime scenes in a large area as the perpetrator walked around during the attack, police said.

04:30 , Joe Middleton

At least five people have been killed and others injured by a man using a bow and arrows to carry out attacks in a Norwegian town, police have said.

Officers said a suspect had been detained following the incident in Kongsberg on Wednesday and that a probe was underway to establish whether the attack amounted to an act of terrorism.

“The man used a bow and arrow ... for some of the attacks,” police chief Oeyvind Aas told reporters on Wednesday. Officers were investigating whether other weapons had also been used, he said.

Tom Ambrose has the details.

Five dead and more injured by man with bow and arrows in Norway

Swedish PM: My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones

03:30 , Joe Middleton

Jonas Gahr Store calls attack ‘cruel’ and ‘brutal’

02:30 , Joe Middleton

New Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, who is expected to take office Thursday said: “What we have heard from Kongsberg tonight testifies that a cruel and brutal act has been committed.

“We still know little about what happened and what is behind it, but we know that several innocent people were killed and that several were injured.

“My thoughts and deepest sympathy are with those affected, their families, and with the police, the health workers who are now working full time to assist those who need help.”

Witness hears police shout ‘Put down your weapon!'

01:30 , Joe Middleton

Sarkis Younan, who lives next to the Coop Extra store where the attack reportedly took place, told local media: “I was sitting and watching Squid Game when I suddenly saw and heard sirens.

“I thought it was in the TV series. Suddenly I heard the police screaming like hell: ‘Put down your weapon!’”

Mass killings rare in Norway

Thursday 14 October 2021 00:30 , Joe Middleton

The country’s worst peacetime slaughter was on July 22, 2011, when right-wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital of Oslo, killing eight people.

Then he headed to tiny Utoya Island, where he stalked the mostly teen members of the Labor Party’s youth wing and killed another 69 victims.

Breivik was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the maximum under Norwegian law, but his term can be extended as long as he’s considered a danger to society.

Pictures from the scene

Wednesday 13 October 2021 23:40 , Joe Middleton

Police in Norway temporarily armed after attack

Wednesday 13 October 2021 23:23 , Joe Middleton

Following the attacks, the police directorate said it had ordered officers nationwide to carry firearms.

Norwegian police are normally unarmed but officers have access to guns and rifles when needed.

“This is an extra precaution. The police have no indication so far that there is a change in the national threat level,” the directorate said in a statement.

Bows and arrows don’t kill people, people kill people, says gun advocate Lauren Boebert

Wednesday 13 October 2021 23:08 , Justin Vallejo

The US congresswoman was quick to chime in on the tragic mass arrow showing in Norway, saying Norway has some of the strictest gun laws around.

“Yet mass killings still occur,” she said in a tweet. “Liberals need to understand it is not the gun - it is the criminal who commits the act!”

Outgoing prime minister Erna Solberg noted in a press conference that mass killings in Norway are rare.

It has been more than a decade since extremist Anders Behring Breivik set a bomb off in Oslo’s government district before going on a shooting massacre at the summer camp of the country’s Labor Party’s youth organization on Utoya island.

He killed 77 people.

Two injured, including an off-duty police officer, remain in intensive care

Wednesday 13 October 2021 22:39 , Justin Vallejo

Police said one of the two injured in the Norway attack was an off-duty police officer inside the shop where the attack took place, according to the AP.

The two survivors of the attack were taken to a hospital and remain in intensive care undergoing treatment.

At least 5 dead and two injured in bow and arrow attack, police confirm

Wednesday 13 October 2021 22:26 , Justin Vallejo

The death toll in the Norway attack has climbed to at least five with another two injured, Norway police confirm.

The latest via NRK US correspondent Anders Tvegard.

Government handover will not be affected, says outgoing prime minister

Wednesday 13 October 2021 22:10 , Justin Vallejo

The bow and arrow attack that killed four people in Norway happened on the eve of a new government taking power in the country.

Outgoing prime minister Erna Solberg told reporters that the mass murder, rare in Norway, would not affect that handover and the new prime minister would be sworn in as planned, according to NPK.

The incoming prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre has been informed of the situation, she said.

Too early to determine motive of ‘gruesome’ attack, says Prime Minister

Wednesday 13 October 2021 22:00 , Justin Vallejo

Erna Solberg tells reporters that it is too early to identify a clear motive for the “gruesome” attack that left at least four dead and more wounded.

Speaking at a press conference, the Prime Minister of Norway said officers would remain armed until further notice, Norwegian Public Broadcasting reported.

The suspect has been transported to a police station in Drammen, about 40 miles east of the attack in Kongsberg.

Prime Minister calls attack ‘shocking’

Wednesday 13 October 2021 21:52 , Justin Vallejo

Erna Solberg said at a press conference the bow and arrow attack in Norway is “shocking”, according to NRK.

She said the man has been taken to a police station in Drammen but he had not yet been questioned by investigators, who are still working to determine if the attack was an act of terrorism.

At least four people have been killed, with more injured.

Prime Minister calls attack ‘shocking’

Wednesday 13 October 2021 21:52 , Justin Vallejo

Erna Solberg said at a press conference the bow and arrow attack in Norway is “shocking”, according to NRK.

She said the man has been taken to a police station in Drammen but he had not yet been questioned by investigators, who are still working to determine if the attack was an act of terrorism.

At least four people have been killed, with more injured.

Police arrested attacker after ‘confrontation’, reports say

Wednesday 13 October 2021 21:38 , Justin Vallejo

Authorities are still looking into whether the bow and arrow attack was an act of terrorism after police apprehended the suspect in a “confrontation”, according to Norwegian Public Broadcasting.

The attack began about 6.10 pm local time in Kongsberg, an hour outside of Oslo, and ended at least 30 minutes later.

Police believe the man acted alone.

Prime Minister and Justice Minister to hold press conference as at least four reported dead

Wednesday 13 October 2021 21:32 , Justin Vallejo

The outgoing prime minister Erna Solberg and justice minister, Monica Mæland, are expected to hold a joint press conference shortly to discuss the attack, according to local broadcaster NRK.

The outlet is reporting at least four have been killed in the attack.

Prime Minister and Justice Minister to hold press conference as at least four reported dead

Wednesday 13 October 2021 21:32 , Justin Vallejo

The outgoing prime minister Erna Solberg and justice minister, Monica Mæland, are expected to hold a joint press conference shortly to discuss the attack, according to local broadcaster NRK.

The outlet is reporting at least four have been killed in the attack.

Witnesses say incident began at Coop Extra Store

Wednesday 13 October 2021 21:17 , Graeme Massie

“I can confirm that there has been a serious incident in our Coop at Kongsberg,” spokesperson Silje Alisø told VG.

She said that none of their employees are physically injured.

Norway arms all police officers after atack

Wednesday 13 October 2021 21:10 , Graeme Massie

The country’s police directorate said it had immediately authorised all officers, who are normally unarmed, to arm themselves with weapons.

“This is an extra precaution. The police have no indication so far that there is a change in the national threat level,” the directorate said in a statement.

Mayor reacts to ‘gruesome’ bow and arrow attack

Wednesday 13 October 2021 20:59 , Graeme Massie

“This is a gruesome incident, there is nothing else to say. Now we must try to take care of the inhabitants as best we can,” town mayor Kari Anne Sand told TV 2.

She said that the attack took place in the Vestiden area, which has housing, shops and a university campus.

Wednesday 13 October 2021 20:55 , Graeme Massie

Police officers cordon off the scene where they are investigating in Kongsberg, Norway after a man armed with bow killed several people before he was arrested by police on October 13, 2021.

"We can unfortunately confirm that there are several injured and also unfortunately several killed in this episode," local police official Oyvind Aas told a news conference.

"The man who committed this act has been arrested by the police and, according to our information, there is only one person involved."

Norway attack: Several dead and more injured by man with bow and arrows in Kongsberg

Wednesday 13 October 2021 20:46 , Graeme Massie

Several people were killed and others injured by a man using a bow and arrows to carry out attacks in the Norwegian town of Kongsberg on Wednesday, local police said.

“The man has been apprehended ... from the information we now have, this person carried out these actions alone,” police chief Oeyvind Aas told reporters.

Tom Ambrose has the story.

Several dead and more injured by man with bow and arrows in Norway