Five dead in Norway bow and arrow attack, suspect arrested

Authorities say a man armed with a bow fired arrows at shoppers in a tiny Norwegian town on Wednesday, killing five people before being apprehended. The police chief in Kongsberg, near Oslo, said officers and the assailant had "a disagreement," although he did not elaborate. Two other individuals were injured and are in intensive care, including an off-duty cop who was inside the business where the attack occurred, according to authorities.

“The man who carried out the act has been arrested by the police, and there is no active search for more people. Based on the information we have, there is one person behind this,” stated Police Chief Oeyving Aas.

The attack was described as "gruesome" by Acting Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who added that it was too early to guess on a reason. In comments to Norwegian news agency NTB, Prime Minister-designate Jonas Gahr Stoere, who is set to assume office on Thursday, termed the assault "a nasty and violent act."

Around 6:15 p.m., police were alerted of the attack, and the culprit was apprehended 30 minutes later. The 26,000-strong village is located around 66 kilometres (41 miles) southwest of Oslo.

The culprit, according to police, roamed about downtown Kongsberg shooting arrows. Aas said there were "multiple crime scenes," but declined to comment on claims that the man used a crossbow.

According to Aas, the man has yet to be questioned. The assault was reported to Norway's domestic security service, PST. Officials from the town asked those who had been affected by the incident, as well as their relatives, to assemble at a local hotel for support.

Norway has a low rate of mass murders. On July 22, 2011, right-wing terrorist Anders Breivik detonated a bomb in Oslo, murdering eight people in the country's worst peacetime massacre. Then he went to small Utoya Island, where he stalked and killed 69 members of the Labor Party's youth branch, predominantly teenagers.

Breivik was given the maximum punishment under Norwegian law of 21 years in prison, although his sentence can be prolonged as long as he is considered a danger to society.

According to the AFP news agency, one witness said she heard a commotion and saw a woman seeking shelter, followed by a "guy standing on the corner with arrows in a quiver on his shoulder and a bow in his hand."

"Afterwards, I saw people running for their lives. One of them was a woman holding a child by the hand," she added.

Chief Aas informed reporters that officers are also looking into whether the attacker utilised any additional weapons during the event.

Authorities have blocked off numerous portions of town after the suspect roamed over a huge area. Authorities advised residents to remain indoors as they investigated the incident and gathered evidence.

The guy was arrested and transferred to a police station in Drammen. Ambulances, police cars, and helicopters were among the emergency vehicles that arrived on the scene.

Norway's Justice Minister Monica Maeland had been informed and was keeping a careful eye on the issue, according to a tweet from the ministry.

As a precaution, the country's police directorate has instructed all officers to carry guns across the country. In most cases, police officers in the country are unarmed.

"The police have no indication so far that there is a change in the national threat level," the directorate stated in a statement (in Norwegian).