Five killed, two injured in bow and arrow attack in Norway

Five people were killed and two were injured by a man armed with a bow and arrow in the Norwegian town of Kongsberg on Wednesday, police said.

“The man has been apprehended ... from the information we now have, this person carried out these actions alone,” police chief Oeyvind Aas told reporters.

“Several people have been injured and several are dead,” Mr Aas said. He declined to comment on the precise number of casualties.

Mr Aas added that “police had received several reports from people in Kongsberg of a man armed with what they said was a bow and arrow.”

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Newspaper VG showed images of an arrow that appeared to be stuck in the wall of a wood-paneled building.

Police were alerted to the attack around 6:30pm local time and arrested the suspect about 20 minutes later. According to police, the suspect walked around the city shooting at people with arrows. Several people were wounded in shops, Mr Aas said.

The man has not been questioned yet, Mr Aas said. City officials invited people who were affected by the attack and their relatives to gather for support at a local hotel.

The attacks took place over “a large area” of Kongsberg, a municipality of about 28,000 people in southeastern Norway, 68km from the capital, Oslo.

The government said police had launched a large investigation.

“The reports coming from Kongsberg tonight are horrifying,” prime minister Erna Solberg told a news conference.

“I understand that many people are afraid, but it’s important to emphasise that the police are now in control,” she said.

Following the attacks, the police directorate said it had ordered officers nationwide to carry firearms. Norwegian police are normally unarmed but officers have access to guns and rifles when needed.

“This is an extra precaution. The police have no indication so far that there is a change in the national threat level,” the directorate said in a statement.

Aas said police would investigate whether the attack amounted to an act of terrorism,

Norway’s minister of justice and public security, Monica Maeland, has received updates on the attacks and was closely monitoring the situation, the ministry said. – Reuters/AP