Man charged with terrorist acts after mass shooting outside Oslo gay bar

25 June 2022, 08:45 | Updated: 25 June 2022, 10:05

A 42-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorist acts after a shooting outside a gay bar in Oslo.

Two people were killed and a further 21 were injured in the attack, which police confirmed on Saturday was being investigated as a terrorist attack.

The shooting took place outside London Pub, a popular gar bar in the Norwegian capital.

Police spokesman Tore Barstad said a possible motive was not immediately known.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called it a "terrible and deeply shocking attack on innocent people".

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It happened hours before the city's Pride parade was set to be held.

Whilst it is not clear whether there was any connection between the two, the parade has been cancelled following advice from police.

"Oslo Pride has received clear advice and a recommendation from the police that the parade, Pride Park, and any other event in relation to Oslo Pride be cancelled. Oslo Pride therefore implores anyone who had planned to participate in or watch the parade, not to show up," said the organisers on Facebook.

"All events in relation to Oslo Pride have been cancelled.

"We will follow the police’s recommendation and take care of each other. We are sending warm thoughts and love to next of kin, those who were wounded, and others affected.

"We will soon be proud and visible again, but today, we will share our Pride celebrations from home."

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said London "stands with" Oslo and that "hate will never win".

"London stands with Oslo," he wrote in a tweet.

"Our thoughts and solidarity are with the victims, their families and all those affected by this horrific attack, hours before Oslo's #Pride was due to take place.

"#LoveIsLove and hate will never win."

"Police are in contact with the organisers of the Pride event this Saturday," Mr Barstad told reporters earlier.

"There will be a continuous assessment of what measures police should take to protect that event and whether this incident has a connection to Pride at all."

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Olav Roenneberg, a journalist from Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, said he witnessed the shooting.

"I saw a man arrive at the site with a bag. He picked up a weapon and started shooting," Mr Roenneberg told NRK.

"First I thought it was an air gun. Then the glass of the bar next door was shattered and I understood I had to run for cover."

Norwegian broadcaster TV2 showed footage of people running down Oslo streets in panic as shots rang out in the background.

Oslo Pride organisers said earlier they were "shocked and saddened by the tragic incident".

"Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones," they added.

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Norway is a relatively safe country but has experienced violent attacks by right-wing extremists, including one of the worst mass shootings in Europe in 2011, when a right-wing extremist killed 69 people on the island of Utoya after setting off a bomb in Oslo that left eight dead.

In 2019, another right-wing extremist killed his stepsister and then opened fire in a mosque but was overpowered before anyone there was injured.