The Norwegian police security service, PST has raised the terror alert in Oslo to the highest level. The move comes after a Norwegian citizen opened fire at a pub in the capital city on Saturday, 25 June, killing two and injuring 21 people at the scene.
The country's police security service which is treating the incident as one of Islamist terrorism, had reportedly not considered the suspect to be a threat earlier. The BBC quoted Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere as saying, “We now need to see the result of an investigation.”
The authorities also confirmed that the terror alert was being raised from “moderate” to “extraordinary” as there was a threat of an “unresolved terrorist situation.”
Eyewitnesses Recall Shooting Horror in Oslo
According to the BBC, the shooting that the police are now terming as an act of terrorism took place in and near the London Pub, a popular LGBTQ+ venue, the Herr Nilsen jazz club, and another pub in Oslo.
Eyewitnesses who escaped the shooting reportedly said that the accused took out a gun from his bag and started firing at the gathering at 1 am on Saturday. The incident left people terrified, as many ran scared or tried to get to safety.
Minutes later, the police with the help of a few citizens arrested the shooter and retrieved two more weapons from him, one of which was a fully automatic gun.
The arrested suspect is a 42-year-old Norwegian of Iranian origin. It was revealed to the reporters there, that the suspect was on the radar of intelligence services and has a history of mental illness.
As per a report by Times of Israel, the arrested suspect has been detained previously for minor crimes and for having possessed drugs and harmful weapons.
Pride March Continues Despite Terror Attack
The terror attack happened ahead of an LGBTQ+ Pride parade that was scheduled to take place on the morning of 25 June, 2022. Despite the police authorities issuing a high alert and formally cancelling the event, hundreds of people in the capital poured on to the streets.
Walking in solidarity with the survivors of the terror attack, the people marched near the scene of the shooting later that day, chanting the words, "We're here, we're queer, we won't disappear!"
The police are still investigating whether the Pride march was intended to be the target of the terror attack.
(With inputs from BBC and Times of Israel.)
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