Terrorism not ruled out as bow and arrow attack killed five people in Norway
A man shooting arrows from a bow has been arrested after killing five and injuring two people in Norway. Multiple areas have been evacuated and police say it is too early to tell whether the attack was terrorism-related.
Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported that five people were killed and two injured, one of whom was a plainclothes police officer.
The lone attacker was taken into custody, but his identity has not been revealed. There is no suspicion that anyone else was involved.
A large area close to Kongsburg and Nybura has reportedly been evacuated and cordoned off after the attacker allegedly shot multiple people in an open street with his bow and arrow.
Investigators are not ruling out this being a terrorist attack, according to Drammen Police Chief Oyvind Aas, who held a press conference following Wednesday’s incident and confirmed the arrest of the sole suspect.
“Time will tell,” he told reporters when asked about a potential terrorist connection.
“The man used a bow and arrow … for some of the attacks,” Aas told reporters, adding that the police were investigating whether other weapons had also been used.
Forensic investigators are now working in the area in an effort to track the assailant’s previous movements.
According to regional paper Laagendalsposten, the Norwegian Elite Police Unit (Delta) and military forces have also been deployed in the vicinity in the wake of the attack.
Oslo police have sent forces to the region to assist in the ongoing investigation, including bomb squads.
“We are helping with national assistance resources such as police helicopters, bomb squads, and crews from the Emergency Response Troop,” Oslo police spokesperson Unni Grondal said in a statement.
The incident took place over a large area in Kongsberg, a mining town southwest of Oslo with a population of over 26,000 people. Local media reported the attack began with the suspect began shooting into a supermarket.
Source: Eurasiareview
