Norway Police Treat Mosque Shooting as Attempted Terror Attack
Norway Tightens Security at Mosques Following Gun Attack
(Bloomberg) -- Norwegian police said a shooting at the Al-Noor Islamic center in Baerum, on the outskirts of Oslo, is being investigated as attempted terrorism.
One person sustained light injuries in Saturday’s incident before the armed attacker was overpowered by people attending the mosque. The suspect, a Norwegian local resident, was taken into custody on suspicion of attempted murder. Police are also investigating the death of a young woman related to the suspect as possible murder after her body was discovered at a property in Baerum.
“Our investigation shows that the suspect has extreme right-wing views,” Rune Skjold, head of section at the Oslo police, said at a press briefing. “His aim was to incite fear. That doesn’t mean that we can conclude that this was an act of terrorism, but we are investigating it as attempted terrorism.”
Police boosted security around the country’s mosques on Sunday, as the country’s Muslims celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday. Uniformed and non-uniformed officers would be involved in the operation. There are no specific threats, it stressed.
“We strongly condemn any attack on any religion, whether in a mosque, synagogue or church,” Justice Minister Joran Kallmyr said in a statement. “I expect that police will take necessary measures to ensure that all Muslims can celebrate Eid peacefully and safely.”
According to various media reports, the suspect’s online postings had referenced other acts of violence, including shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the El Paso, Texas attack in which 22 were killed earlier this month. Police confirmed on Sunday they’re looking into his online activity and receiving assistance from Norway’s security service, PST.
Norway has been spared major incidents since right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik set off a bomb in Oslo and launched a gun attack on a political youth camp at the island of Utoya in 2011, killing 77 people in all.
To contact the reporter on this story: Niclas Rolander in Stockholm at nrolander@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Davis at abdavis@bloomberg.net, John Deane, Katharina Rosskopf
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