Two people died in Oslo in Norway when a man opened fired on people ahead of the annual LGBTQ Pride festival. The police have described the incident as an “Islamist Terror Act”.
21 persons were also injured in the attack that took place on Oslo’s nightlife district, where the pride festivities were due to take place. The shootings took place at around 1 AM local time at three places in downtown Oslo before the attacker was arrested. After the attack, the Pride march was called off.
The shooter has been identified as a 42-year-old Norwegian citizen originally from Iran. The police recovered two weapons in connection with the attack, a handgun and an automatic weapon. The three locations where the shootings took place included a gay bar. The three places of attack were London Pub gay club, the Herr Nilsen jazz club and a takeaway food outlet. The gay pub is said to be a hub of LGBTQ activities in Oslo.
When the firing started at the pub, the panicked people present there rushed to the basement of the establishment and hid there. Around 80 to 100 people saved their lives by hiding in the basement.
Police have confirmed that the same person shot people at the three different places in the area. “The police are investigating the events as a terrorist attack,” police said in a statement. Police said that out of the 21 injured, 10 have serious injuries. The two killed were in their 50s and 60s, according to the police.
According to a journalist present at the time of the shooting, the man arrived with a bag from which he pulled out a gun and started firing at people.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stere also have described it as an act of Islamist terrorism. “Everything indicates that this has been an attack by an Islamist extremist,” he said while talking about the incident in a press conference.
While the Pride parade was cancelled due to the attack, thousands of people gathered at the site in the next morning and held a spontaneous march, waiving rainbow flags.