Man kills five people in Norway with bow and arrow

In a press conference on Thursday, Norwegian police chief Ole Bredrup Sæverud emphasised that nothing is known about the motive of Wednesday's attack. According to Sæverud, the Dane has already confessed. The police think that the suspect acted alone.

At the press conference, authorities said that four of the victims were women. The fifth victim was a man. All victims were between 50 and 70 years old. Kongsberg is located about 80 kilometres west of the Norwegian capital Oslo.

Bow and arrow

According to Sæverud, the first report of a man with a bow and arrow came in at 6:12 pm. Officers arrived at the scene at 6:18 pm. The suspect managed to escape by firing arrows at the officers. All five victims were subsequently killed, the police chief said. At around 6:45 pm, officers were able to arrest the suspect.

Police said on Wednesday that an officer, who was not working at the time, was injured in the attack. Norwegian media previously reported that an officer had been shot in the back.

Anxious

“The information we are getting from Kongsberg is appalling,” Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said in a news conference on Wednesday evening. “I understand that people are anxious, but I want to emphasize that the police do have the situation under control,” Solberg said.

The national police have called on officers to arm themselves properly after the "serious incident." Norwegian agents are usually unarmed. The authorities, however, have now decided to temporarily supply officers with firearms. The Norwegian police will release a more detailed statement about the incident on Thursday if there is "more clarity about what exactly happened."

On Thursday morning, reports came in in Oslo of a man walking around with a bow and arrow. The police say they are investigating this.

Utøya

About 70 kilometres northeast of the stricken city is the island of Utøya, where right-wing terrorist Anders Breivik killed 69 people, mostly teenagers and young adults, more than a decade ago.

Shortly before that, he had detonated a bomb in Oslo, killing eight people. It is considered the worst terrorist attack in the country to date. Breivik was sentenced in 2012 to a maximum prison sentence of 21 years. However, he can be held for longer as his sentence can be extended indefinitely.