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Oslo shooting: Norway attack being treated as Islamist terrorism, police say - BBC

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People react next to a cordoned-off crime scene in the aftermath of shootings in the centre of Oslo, Norway, on 25 JuneEPA

A 42-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorist acts after a shooting in the centre of Norway's capital, Oslo.

Two people were killed and 21 injured in the attack on a busy nightlife district early on Saturday.

Police said they consider the attack an act of extreme Islamist terrorism.

The victims were shot in and outside the London Pub, a popular LGBTQ+ venue, and near the Herr Nilsen jazz club and another pub.

Oslo's annual gay Pride parade was due to be held on Saturday, and was formally cancelled on police advice.

But despite that, hundreds of people marched near the scene later in the day, shouting: "We're here, we're queer, we won't disappear!"

"I think it's fantastic that this march is taking place, otherwise he would have won," one woman in her 50s told AFP news agency.

Rainbow flags and flowers were laid near the scene of the attack, which was sealed off by police tape, and bystanders comforted each other with hugs.

The suspect had been known to the security services since 2015, as a "suspected radicalised Islamist", and had a history of mental illness, Norway's PST intelligence service said.

"There is reason to think that this may be a hate crime," police said earlier. "We are investigating whether... Pride was a target in itself or whether there are other motives."

Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called it a "terrible and deeply shocking attack on innocent people".

"To all the homosexuals who now are afraid and are in mourning, I say we are all with you," he said on Facebook.

Protests in Oslo following shootings on 25 June.
Getty Images
People take part in a protest march on 25 June in Oslo, Norway
Getty Images

Witnesses who were at the London Pub have told how they fled to the basement, where 80 to 100 terrified partygoers were trying to hide.

Bili Blum-Jansen told TV2: "Many called their partners and family, it felt almost as if they were saying goodbye. Others helped calm down those who were extremely terrified.

"I had a bit of panic and thought that if the shooter or shooters were to arrive, we'd all be dead. There was no way out."

Another survivor told how he was hit by flying glass.

"I was in the outer bar in London when it happened. I just noticed that a shot was fired, and I was hit by a shard of glass. There were more and more and more shots, so I escaped into the inner bar and tried to get as many as possible with me," he told Norway's public broadcaster NRK.

"At first people did not understand what was happening, but then there was panic."

"Today is a day that reminds us that Pride is a day we have to fight for... the goal has not yet been reached," Trond Petter Aunas said.

police in Oslo
EPA

"I saw a man arrive with a bag, he picked up a gun and started to shoot," said journalist Olav Roenneberg of public broadcaster NRK, who was in the area at the time.

Two weapons were retrieved at the crime scene by police, one of them a fully automatic gun. Norwegian police are not typically armed, but will carry guns until further notice out of caution, national chief Benedicte Bjoernland said.

The terror alert level in Norway has been raised to its highest level, though the PST intelligence service said it currently had "no indication" further attacks were likely.

In a Facebook post, the team at the London Pub called the shooting "absolutely horrific and pure evil".

"Our thoughts go to the dead, injured and relatives," the post said. "All employees... are safe and physically unharmed. Take care of each other during this time."

A woman told the Verdens Gang newspaper that the gunman had taken careful aim at his targets. "When I understood that it was serious, I ran. There was a man covered in blood motionless on the floor," she said.

Another man told the newspaper he had seen a lot of people on the ground with head wounds.

Rainbow and flowers placed as a tribute
Reuters

King Harald, Norway's monarch, said he and his family were "horrified" by the violence.

He said "we must stand together" to defend "freedom, diversity and respect for each other".

Norway's Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said the incident had shaken the country.

"Norway is a community of trust where everyone should feel safe outside on a Saturday night," NRK quoted her as saying.

Map shows the location of the attack

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Oslo shooting: Norway attack being treated as Islamist terrorism, police say - BBC
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