Pride parade organisers cancel the event amid fears that an attack might just have targeted the LGBT+ community.
According to police, two people were killed as well as more than a dozen individuals were wounded in a mass shooting next to a LGBT gay bar in Oslo.
The shooting occurred early Saturday in Oslo’s downtown area, according to police, and is now being investigated as a plausible terrorist act.
The shooter allegedly opened fire right outside The London Pub, a popular gay bar, and it dispersed to a nearby club and surrounding streets.
“Two people have been confirmed dead,” the Oslo police department tweeted. According to police, 14 people were taken to a hospital, with several suffering serious injuries.
The police also believe that a 42-year-old male suspect is to be the primary perpetrator was apprehended.
According to The New York Times, the suspect is a 42-year-old Norwegian citizen born in Iran who has a history of minor crimes, according to police attorney Christian Hatlo.
Hatlo stated that the police have reason to believe the attack was motivated by hatred because a gay bar was targeted. He went on to say that police were looking into the shooting as a terrorist attack.
“Our overall evaluation is that while there are grounds for believing he intended to instil severe fear in the population,” Mr Hatlo said.
They stated that two firearms were seized in connection with the incident: a handgun and an automatic weapon. The suspect is accused of murder, attempted murder, and terrorism. Christian Hatlo, a police lawyer, said that the charges were related to the number of people impacted in multiple locations.
According to Mr Hatlo, the suspect’s mental health is also being investigated.
“We need to look into his medical history if he has one.” “It’s not something we’re aware of right now,” he explained.
Photographs published by the newspaper VG, the broadcaster NRK, and others showed a large crowd of emergency responders, including police and ambulance workers, outside the London Pub.
Helicopters circled central Oslo, whereas sirens of ambulances and police cars could be heard throughout the city.
“I saw a man show up with a bag, he owned a gun, and he started shooting,” NRK journalist Olav Roenneberg reported.
The London pub is located in the heart of Oslo and is one of the city’s most popular establishments.
Later that day, Oslo would hold its annual Pride parade. The march, however, has been cancelled as a result of the shooting incident.
The timing of the attack raises concerns that it was planned to target the LGBT+ community ahead of a parade commemorating 50 years of homosexuality being legalised in Norway.
Norway, a country where mass shootings are uncommon, was the site of the 2011 terror attacks in which right-wing extremist Anders Breivik killed 77 people.
The country has strict gun laws that require gun owners to be licenced and take safety courses.
In response to the 2011 shooting, Norway imposed a ban on semiautomatic weapons last year.
