Bow and Arrow Attack in Norway: Police Treat Incident as Terrorism, Attacker Recently Converted to Islam

The Kongsberg mass killing is the second deadliest in Norway's history.

On the evening of October 13 in the city of Kongsberg in southern Norway, home to about 25,000 people, a man armed with a bow and arrows killed five people. Here is everything known about the incident so far. 

Who the perpetrator is

The man attacked passersby while moving through the city center. Police believe all of his victims were random. Four women and one man aged between 50 and 70 were killed. Two more people, including a police officer, were wounded, but their lives are not in danger. 

It took half an hour to detain the perpetrator. At 6:13 p.m. local time, police received the first report of the attack. Five minutes later, patrol officers spotted the attacker and tried to detain him, but he fired at them and fled. 

Within minutes, additional armed patrols were sent to the area, and at 6:47 p.m. the suspect was caught. Before the arrest, police fired warning shots into the air. Following this incident, police were ordered to arm themselves, although in Norway they do not normally carry weapons. 

The attacker turned out to be a 37-year-old Danish citizen who had recently converted to Islam. Police have not yet named him. It is known that police received reports of his "radicalization" (it is not specified whether this referred specifically to religious radicalization). The most recent such report dates from 2020. 

The media reported that the suspect was born in Norway and has lived in the country all his life. Since the early 2000s he has officially been registered as unemployed. He was previously tried for robbery and drug purchases, and six months ago he received a six-month court restraining order barring him from approaching two of his relatives, whom he had threatened to kill. There is information that the suspect has violated this order at least once. 

Motives of the attack

On the morning of October 14, the detainee's lawyer said the man is giving testimony that reveals his motives, but did not specify their substance. The suspect had no accomplices. Authorities did not rule out a terrorism version, but neither did they claim that the detainee's possible radical views were the cause of the attack. 

At the same time, the media reported that Norway's security police considered terrorist acts in the country in 2021 to be likely. Attacks by lone individuals using stabbing and cutting weapons were considered the most likely. 

Already on the afternoon of October 14, the country's security police said they were treating the attack as terrorism. The agency's statement said more detailed motives would be established during the investigation. The overall level of terrorist threat in Norway remains at a "moderate" level. 

The Kongsberg mass killing is the second deadliest in Norway's history. Only the terrorist attack committed by Anders Breivik killed more people. In July 2011, Breivik, who held far-right views, detonated a bomb in central Oslo, after which he opened fire at a youth camp on the island of Utøya. 

Seventy-seven people were killed then, most of them teenagers. The terrorist was sentenced to the maximum penalty possible in the country: 21 years in prison, with the possibility of extension if authorities deem that he still poses a danger to society. 

It is worth noting that bows are not a prohibited weapon in Norway. They can be freely purchased, and owners are not required to register them. However, bows and arrows may only be used at special shooting ranges.