Two were killed and 21 injured ahead of Oslo Pride, and police say it may have been a hate crime.
Image source, EPAA 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.
There was gunfire at about 01:00 local time (23:00 GMT) on Saturday, in three locations including a gay bar.
Shots were fired at the London Pub, a popular LGBTQ+ venue, and near the Herr Nilsen jazz club and a takeaway.
Oslo’s annual Pride parade was due to be held on Saturday, but has been cancelled following police advice.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called it a “terrible and deeply shocking attack on innocent people”.
“I saw a man arrive with a bag, he picked up a gun and started to shoot,” journalist Olav Roenneberg of public broadcaster NRK said.
One witness in the London Pub told NRK that he had been 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 said.
“At first people did not understand what was happening, but then there was panic.”
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.
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,” she said, according to NRK.