POSTED BY: ROBIN-IVAN CAPAR 14. OCTOBER 2021
At the moment, the Police Security Service (PST) considers the incident in Kongsberg a terrorist act.
The investigation will clarify in more detail what the incidents were motivated by, and the threat level in Norway is still considered moderate, the PST wrote in a press release on Thursday.
The PST is now assisting the Southeastern Police District with all relevant information they may have that can contribute to the investigation. At the same time, they are working to investigate whether what has happened can inspire others to commit serious acts of violence, such as follow-up or revenge attacks
Converted to Islam
Earlier in the day, the police announced that the man charged in the Kongsberg attack is a convert to Islam and that there have been radicalization concerns related to the man.
“We have not received reports of concern related to the man in 2021. But there have been reports before, and these have been followed up,” Chief of Police Ole Bredrup Sæverud in the South-Eastern Police District said, according to the newspaper VG.
The latest report was allegedly received in 2020. When asked whether the attack was religiously motivated, Sæverud said:
“We know nothing about the motive yet. But it is natural to ask that question
“There are complicated assessments related to the motive, and it will take time before this is clarified. But there have been concerns related to radicalization in the past, and the police have been in contact with the man before,” Sæverud noted.
Five people dead, two injured
Furthermore, the man was banned from visiting two close family members last year after he allegedly threatened to kill one of them, according to VG.
The man, who used a bow and arrow to kill five and injure two people in Kongsberg, was arrested yesterday after a major police operation.
Source: Norway Today