In addition to the minor raid on a mosque near the Norwegian capital Oslo, a homicidal offense could also be attributed to the arrested suspect. The native Norwegian was suspected of murder because of the finding of a woman’s body in his apartment, said police spokesman Rune Skjold at a press conference late Saturday night.
The relationship between the victim and the alleged perpetrator left Skjold open. The body of the young woman was discovered in the search of several buildings after the attack on the mosque, it was said. The detainee has not been heard since he is still treated medically and have no lawyer. At present, the incident is not treated as a terrorist attack.
Visitor prevents worse
The man is accused of heavily armed entry into the Al-Nur Mosque in Bärum near Oslo on Saturday. The circumstances suggest that he may have wanted to do a major bloodshed there. Three believers would have stayed in the mosque after the prayer, when someone with two shotguns and a gun armed penetrated into the building, said Mosque director Ifran Mushtaq the TV2. Two of the men had jumped for cover immediately, a man of about 70 years had overwhelmed the attacker. Gun shots were fired. The attacker was finally put out of action by a blow to the back of the head so that the police could arrest him.
Both the alleged perpetrator and one of the mosque visitors were slightly injured, said police spokesman Skjold. He said nothing about the nature and cause of the injuries. Nor did Skjold comment on the weapons found on the scene. The attacker himself was reportedly wearing a protective vest, black clothes and knee pads.
Police acquainted, but without a criminal background
The detainee’s Internet activities, including his recent messages on social networks and online forums, are still under review, Skjold said. In one of the news, which was written only hours before the act, according to TV2, the suspect is said to have sympathetically commented on the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, where a right-wing extremist shot 51 people in March and injured another 50.
A police spokesman had said that the suspect was a young Norwegian living near the mosque. He was known to the police but has no criminal background.
