Kongsberg:
Five dead in Norway bow and arrow attack
Published
1 hour ago
Five people have been killed and two more injured in Norway after a man used a bow and arrow to attack them.
Police first received word of an attack in the town of Kongsberg, south-west of the capital Oslo, at 18:13 local time (16:13 GMT).
A Danish man aged 37 has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the attack.
Police believe he acted alone, and will investigate whether it was an act of terrorism, a spokesman said.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg said reports of the incident had been "horrifying".
"I understand that many people are afraid, but it's important to emphasise that the police are now in control," she told a news conference, hours before she was due to leave office.
The attacker is said to have launched the assault inside a Coop Extra supermarket on Kongsberg's west side. One of those injured was an off-duty police officer who was in the shop at the time.
A spokesperson for the chain later confirmed a "serious incident" at their store, adding that none of their staff were physically injured.
Local police chief Oyvind Aas confirmed that the attacker had managed to escape an initial confrontation with police before an arrest was finally made at 18:47 local time, 34 minutes after the attack began.
One witness told local outlet TV2 she had heard a commotion and seen a woman taking cover, then a "man standing on the corner with arrows in a quiver on his shoulder and a bow in his hand".
"Afterwards, I saw people running for their lives. One of them was a woman holding a child by the hand," she added.
Police have told the Norwegian news agency NTB that the attacker also used other weapons during the incident, without giving more details on what they were.
