The perpetrator opened fire in The London Pub, a popular gay bar and nightclub in the centre of Oslo, killing two and wounding 14
The perpetrator opened fire in The London Pub, a popular gay bar and nightclub in the centre of Oslo, killing two and wounding 14
Two people were killed and 14 wounded on Saturday in a shooting at a nightclub and in nearby streets in Norway’s capital Oslo. The shooting is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack, Norwegian police said.
In a news conference Saturday, police officials said the man arrested after the shooting was a Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin who was previously known to police but not for major crimes.
They said they had seized two firearms in connection with the attack: a handgun and an automatic weapon.
The crime scene extended from the London Pub via a neighbouring club and onwards to a nearby street where the gunman was apprehended a few minutes after the shooting began, police spokesman Tore Barstad told newspaper Aftenposten.
The London Pub is a popular gay bar and nightclub in the centre of Oslo.
“I saw a man arrive with a bag, he picked up a gun and started to shoot,” journalist Olav Roenneberg of public broadcaster NRK reported. It was not clear what was the motive for the attack.
Pride parade cancelled
The events occurred outside the London Pub, a bar popular with the city’s LGBTQ community, hours before Oslo’s Pride parade was due to take place. Organisers canceled all Pride events planned for Saturday on the advice of police.
Photographs published by newspaper VG, broadcaster NRK and others showed a large gathering of emergency responders outside the London Pub, including police and ambulance workers.
Helicopters hovered above central Oslo while ambulance and police car sirens were heard across the city.
Oslo’s university hospital said it had gone on red alert following the shooting.