Norway Police: Bow and Arrow Attack Appears to Be Act of Terror

Police in Norway Thursday said a bow-and-arrow attack that claimed the lives of five people in the town of Kongsberg appears to be an act of terror.

At news conference, regional Police Chief Ole Bredrup Saeverud told reporters the attack was carried out by a 37-year-old Danish national and Muslim convert who was known to local police over fears he had been “radicalized.”

Authorities say the Kongsberg resident, whose name has not been released, acted alone, admitted to the attack and was cooperating but had not entered a plea.

Norway’s domestic security agency said the investigation will clarify in more detail what motivated the incident.

The attack took place Wednesday over “a large area” of the southeastern town of 26,000 people, located nearly 70 kilometers outside the capital, Oslo. Police say two other people were wounded, including an off-duty police officer. The suspect was arrested about a half hour after the attacks began.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a tweet he was “shocked and saddened” by the news and that his thoughts “are with the victims’ loved ones and all the people of Norway at this very difficult moment.”

The incident was the deadliest attack in Norway since 2011, when far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people, most of them teenagers. at a youth camp.

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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