“A cruel and deeply shocking attack on innocent people,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said on Saturday, after the mass shooting in Oslo nightclubs that left two people dead and more than twenty injured.
“My thoughts go to the victims and their relatives. We do not yet know what was behind this terrible act, but to the queer people who are now scared and in grief, I want to say that we are all with you,” Støre noted in a statement to NTB.
Minister for Gender Equality Anette Trettebergstuen (AP) said she is deeply shaken and shocked.
“This is a cruel attack on innocent people regardless of the motive, and I want to express my deepest sympathy to those who have been affected and their relatives,” Trettebergstuen told NTB.
“Many queer people are now scared, but you are not alone; we stand together in this,” she added.
Early Saturday morning, the Pride parade was canceled.
“Attack on love”
Conservative Party leader and former Prime Minister Erna Solberg called the shooting an attack on love.
“It is an attack on the freedom to love whoever you want,” she said in a statement.
Solberg added that her thoughts go out to all those affected by this brutal act.
“We still do not know what was behind the attack last night, but in Norway, it should be safe to love whoever you want, and no one should be allowed to scare us from being an open, generous, and inclusive country.”
Storting President Masud Gharahkhani (AP) also described the attack as brutal and terrible.
Shooting at nightclubs
The shooting started at 1:15 AM, when the 42-year-old attacker came to the nightclub Per on the corner outside the Oslo courthouse. Witnesses say he took a weapon from a bag and started firing.
Then the man walked down Rosenkrantz street to the gay pub London Pub. Several witnesses told NTB that Pride-celebrating pub guests threw themselves on the floor in panic when they heard the sound of gunshots.
There are several crime scenes, according to police, and a large area is cordoned off. A thorough technical investigation was underway in the morning hours on Saturday.
Shortly after the shooting, people ran out into the street in panic and asked others to get away from the area. A number of shots were fired. The man was arrested by the police at 1:19 AM.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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