Kongsberg attack: Norwegian police question Islamist motives | News | DW
Norwegian police investigating Wednesday’s deadly attack in the southeastern city of Kongsberg said they were moving away from initial suspicions that Islamist motives were behind the archery and arrows.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Police Inspector Per Thomas Omholt said there was reason to believe the suspect, who is in custody, was not a convinced convert to the Islam as it was initially thought.
“The idea is that he did not take [the conversion] very seriously. By that we mean that he did not follow or practice the traditions that are common in this culture and religion, ”the inspector said.
Omholt said the killing, in which five people died and three were injured, was more likely the result of mental illness.
He added that investigators believed the suspect had acted alone.
Omholt said suspect did not appear to be “serious” about his alleged conversion
Suspect known to authorities
The suspect, a 37-year-old Dane, allegedly posted a video on social media in 2017 claiming to be a Muslim and a messenger, and to have a “mission”.
The Norwegian domestic intelligence agency did not consider the video a criminal threat because the statements were not specific, Martin Bernsen of the Police Security Service (PST) told the Norwegian News Agency on Friday.
The man, who had been known to the PST since 2015, has been held in a medical facility pending a psychiatric assessment. He would not yet be fit for questioning.
The attack was Norway‘s deadliest in a decade.
Police inspected the suspect’s home
Police launch independent review of response
Following the incident, the PST said it was commissioning an independent review of the response from police and security agencies.
“Given the seriousness of the matter, it is very important that learning points and possible weaknesses and errors are identified quickly so that action can be taken immediately,” the PST said in a statement.
It comes as Norwegian media questioned the time it would take officers to apprehend the suspect after the local police department was first notified of the attack.
Police said a delay was caused as the first officers at the scene called for reinforcements when arrows were fired at them. Authorities admitted that the suspect fled by then and likely committed the murders.
tj / fb (dpa, AP, AFP)
