Espen Andersen Bråthen, 37, has been charged over the assault, which happened within the Norwegian city of Kongsberg on Wednesday night and left 5 individuals lifeless. Police have but to disclose the fees he faces.
Norwegian Police Safety Service (PST) chief Hans Sverre Sjøvold informed reporters on Thursday that the assault “seems as if it could be an act of terrorism” however famous that it is vital the investigation goes forward and “we get to make clear what the motives of the accused are.”
Officers had been involved with the person, together with “because of earlier issues associated to radicalization,” police chief Ole Bredrup Sæverud mentioned. Officers additionally revealed the suspect had transformed to Islam.
The suspect had not appeared on their radar this yr although, Sæverud indicated, saying the police had “acquired no experiences in 2021 concerning radicalization.”
4 girls and one man had been killed within the assault. They had been all aged 50 to 70 years, Sæverud mentioned.
Folks laid flowers and lit candles at a vigil for the victims in Kongsberg on Thursday night, with extra stopping by to pay their respects on the makeshift memorial on Friday.
Newly inaugurated Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was anticipated to journey to the city on Friday.
Talking Thursday at a press convention within the capital, Oslo, Gahr Støre mentioned he hoped to go to alongside the Minister for Justice as a way to specific their “assist” to these affected.
The tragedy coincided with Gahr Støre’s announcement of the brand new Norwegian authorities Thursday. Acknowledging this in the course of the press convention, he known as it “a really big day to current a brand new authorities” in mild of the nation experiencing a “horribly merciless assault on harmless individuals final night time.”
He expressed his aid that Norwegian police had arrested the suspect, whereas emphasizing that the end result was nonetheless “deeply tragic.”
“It was an act of terrorism, and this act that occurred yesterday naturally reminds us of those that have skilled such horrible issues and we are going to stand by them,” he mentioned.
The Kongsberg assault “exhibits that our society is weak,” Gahr Støre mentioned, as he harassed that it’s “not good for us to conclude what’s the motive, what’s behind this motion.” He mentioned the Norwegian police “should be allowed to complete their work and make clear” such issues however that the assault “emphasizes once more that preparedness is a posh process for a society.”
A timeline of the occasions Wednesday revealed that solely 35 minutes elapsed between the primary experiences to police of a person taking pictures with a bow and arrow, at 6:12 p.m. and the arrest of the suspect at 6:47 p.m.
From what police now know, “it seems moderately clear that in all probability everybody was killed after the police had been involved with the perpetrator for the primary time,” Sæverud mentioned.
The perpetrator was believed to have acted alone, police mentioned.
CNN’s Niamh Kennedy contributed to this report.
