The Russian who was arrested for a stabbing in a Kiwi store in Oslo, said that he would kill as many as possible. His defence team said the man is sick.
The man 20 year old comes from the Russian republic of Bashkortostan and is a Russian citizen said PST chief, Benedicte Bjørnland to NTB news. He came to Norway via Sweden on Thursday.
“He has explained that he has a connection with Islam, and that he wanted to kill more people and that this was a terrorist act” she said.
The man is charged with breach of section 131 of the Criminal Code, which includes acts of terrorism. PST will consider whether the incident affects the general threat picture.
Prison meeting Saturday
The man has been appointed lawyer, Ola Lunde, as defence. He will meet the client first in connection with the prison meeting. The court hearing starts at 12.15 pm on Saturday in Oslo District Court, PST informed NTB.
‘’I haven’t read the printout of his explanation, but my gut tells me he’s sick.
I would ask that he be presented to the police officer for a preliminary observation’’ said lawyer, Ola Lunde, to Dagbladet newspaper.
According to the PST boss, it is currently not revealed whether the man is affiliated with any known terrorist organizations.
‘’But the investigation will seek to clarify this’’ she said.
A Norwegian woman in her 20s was critically injured after being stabbed in a Kiwi store in Møllergata in Oslo. The police received notification of the incident on Thursday at 12.53. First, the case was investigated by Oslo police district.
May be the first attack of this type
‘’On Friday morning, the Director of Public Prosecutions decided that the investigation of the knife attack would be transferred to PST. The reason being that information was brought to the interview on Thursday evening’’ said Bjørnland.
To Nettavisen newspaper, Bjørnland said that this could be the first knife attack with casual victims in this country that might potentially be linked to extreme Islamism.
Justice Minister, Tor Mikkel Wara of Fremskrittsparti (FRP) commented on Friday’s knife attack against the young woman.
‘’I think of her and her family in a very difficult time’’ he said.
Probably a ‘casual’ victim
After the knife attack, operations manager, Rune Ullsand, of the Oslo police district informed NTB that the woman was at the pay til when she was stabbed in the back.
“Everything indicates that she was a casual victim” said the operation manager.
The woman was brought to Ullevål hospital with critical injuries, but her condition was termed ‘stable’.
The man ran from the store and was arrested by the police near the scene after a short time.
On Friday, the Russian Embassy in Oslo mentioned the case on its Facebook page.
‘’The embassy is in contact with the police authorities’’ it stated.
According to NRK news, citing the Russian news agency, Tass, Russian authorities are working to find out more about the man and his background.
© NTB / #Norway Today