Danish Man Arrested after 5 Killed in Bow and Arrow Attack in Norway

A man arrested after five people were killed and two injured in a rampage with a bow and arrow in Norway was previously suspected of radicalisation, police have said.

At 6.13PM local time last night, police were contacted about someone moving around the centre of Kongsberg, a town in the south of the country, with a weapon said to be a bow and arrow.

The suspect shot at people in several locations including at a supermarket, police said. Those killed were four women and one man, all between the ages of 50 and 70, police said. One of those injured was an off duty police officer. The suspect was arrested at 6.47PM.

“There earlier had been worries of the man having been radicalised,” police chief Ole B Saeverud told a press conference in Kongsberg on Thursday. Saeverud confirmed that the suspect was a convert to Islam who was known to the police.

A 37-year-old man has been arrested and charged. Norwegian police confirmed that the suspect is a Danish man living in Kongsberg.

Police said that weapons other than the bow and arrows were used in the attack but did not give more details.

Norwegian police will be temporarily armed as a result of the incident, a statement from the police said, although it added that there was no indication of other imminent threats.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg said in a statement, “We are shocked by the killing of several persons in Kongsberg. Several persons are injured. The Norwegian Police has confirmed that the attacker is arrested. According to the police, the attacker was acting alone.

This is a dramatic situation that has severely affected the local community in Kongsberg. We are deeply disturbed by these attacks. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those affected.”

The attack is the deadliest mass killing in Norway for a decade, since far-right extremist Anders Breivik killed 77 people in bomb and gun attacks in 2011.