- A gunman kills two and injures more than 20
- The partygoers hid in the basement of the Oslo bar
- Official Pride Parade canceled after the tragedy
- Norwegian police carry weapons as a precaution
OSLO, June 25 (Reuters) – Terrified partygoers at a gay bar in Oslo hid in a basement and desperately called their loved ones while a gunman shot himself, killing two people and injuring more than 20 a day that the city was to celebrate it. its annual Pride Parade.
The attack took place in the early hours of Saturday, with victims shot inside and outside the London Pub, a historic center of the LGBTQ scene in Oslo, as well as in the surrounding streets and in another bar in the center of the capital. Norway.
Bili Blum-Jansen, who was in the London pub, said he fled to the basement to escape the hail of bullets and hid there along with 80 to 100 other people.
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“Many called their partners and relatives, it seemed almost as if they were saying goodbye. Others helped calm those who were very terrified,” he told TV2.
“I was a little panicked and I thought if the shooter or shooters came, we would all be dead. There was no way out.”
A suspect, a 42-year-old Norwegian citizen of Iranian descent, was arrested minutes after embarking on the shooting, according to police who said he believed he was acting alone. Two weapons, including a fully automatic pistol, were recovered from the crime scene, they added.
“There is reason to think this may be a hate crime,” police said.
“We are investigating whether Pride was a goal in itself or whether there are other reasons.”
Other witnesses described the chaos that erupted inside and outside the London Pub, which has been open since 1979.
“A lot of people were crying and screaming, the wounded were screaming, people were distressed and scared, very, very scared,” said Marcus Nybakken, 46, who had left the bar shortly before the shooting and later returned to help.
A rainbow flag and flowers are placed as a tribute to a sidewalk after a shooting at a nightclub in central Oslo, Norway, on June 25, 2022. Terje Pedersen / NTB / via REUTERS
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“My first thought was that Pride was the goal, so that’s scary.”
Journalist Olav Roenneberg of the public broadcaster NRK said he was in the area at the time and saw a man arrive with a bag, pull out a gun and start firing: “Then I saw that windows were breaking and I understood that I had to protect myself “.
Authorities said the attack is also being investigated as a possible act of terrorism and said they did not rule out that mental illness was a factor. It was unclear where the two people died in the London Pub area.
NORWEGIAN POLICE TO CARRY WEAPONS
Norwegian police, who are not normally armed, will now carry weapons until further notice as a precaution, said National Chief Benedict Bjoernland. Norway’s PST intelligence service added that it was investigating whether there could be more attacks. “At the moment we have no indication of that,” PST said.
Organizers of the Oslo Pride canceled Saturday’s parade, citing police advice. “We will soon be proud and visible again, but today we will celebrate Pride at home,” they said.
Still, several thousand people began what appeared to be a spontaneous march in central Oslo, waving rainbow flags and chanting in English, “We’re here, we’re queer, we’re not going to disappear.”
King Harald of Norway said he and the royal family were devastated by the attack, which according to police also left 10 people seriously injured and 11 with minor injuries.
“We must stand together and defend our values: freedom, diversity and respect for each other,” the 85-year-old monarch added.
The shooting took place a few months after Norway marked 50 years since the abolition of a law criminalizing gay sex. The suspect was known to authorities, even for violence of a less severe nature, police said.
The 5.4 million-nation Nordic nation has lower crime rates than many Western countries, although it has suffered hate-motivated shootings, including when far-right Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in 2011.
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Report by Terje Solsvik and Gwladys Fouche; Edited by Sam Holmes and Pravin Char
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