Armed with a bow and arrow, he began targeting passers-by in various areas of Kongsberg, a town in southeastern Norway about 85 kilometers from Oslo.
The death toll is five, including a plainclothes officer shot in the shoulder, and two injured.
The perpetrator of the massacre showed up on YouTube a few days ago: with a shirt and sweatpants, he held a bow and arrow and practiced target shooting. Last night he took action: shortly after dark he began to wander through the streets of the city and started shooting his arrows, using passers-by as a target.
There were several crime scenes: according to some information, a supermarket near a residential area and a student dormitory.
Police immediately intervened, complete with helicopters, while residents were ordered to stay at home. The policemen, who are not armed in Norway, were equipped with guns and rifles.
After a brief confrontation, the man was stopped. It is a 37-year-old Danish, Rainer Winklarson: the name of the killer immediately began to circulate on social networks, as well as the still image of the video posted in the previous days on YouTube.
According to the authorities there are no other people involved, the suspect "had converted to Islam", the police said at a press conference, adding that she had been in contact with the man precisely for fear of radicalization.
In Norway, fear of attacks by far-right exponents is still alive. And the mind immediately changes to the Utoya massacre, in which Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people first by detonating a bomb near the government headquarters in Oslo, then by killing young people during a Labor youth demonstration on the island of Utoya.
The attacker who was arrested last night also had other weapons, including a knife.
The prime minister in charge, Labor Jonas Gahr Store, spoke of a "cruel and brutal" act.
"Last night I was informed by the Minister of Justice
Monica Maeland of what happened - she told the Norwegian agency Ntb -. My thoughts and deepest solidarity now go out to those affected, their families and the police, health personnel and rescue teams who are now working tirelessly to get a complete picture and assist those in need of help. " .
Outgoing Prime Minister Erna Solberg spoke of "gruesome news" from Kongsberg where the attacker "committed horrific acts against several people".
(Unioneonline / L)
