Assailant with bow and arrow kills 5 in Norway

Copenhagen, Oct 13 (EFE).- Five people were killed and two others wounded Wednesday in a town west of Oslo by an attacker armed with a bow and arrow, Norwegian police said.

A suspect is in custody following the rampage in Kongsberg, a town of some 29,000 people 85 km (53 mi) from the capital, but has yet to be questioned.

“From the course of events, it is natural to consider whether this is an act of terrorism,” the district police commander, Øyvind Aas, told a press conference. “The apprehended person has not been questioned, and it is therefore too early to say anything about this and what was the person’s motivation.”

There is “no active search for more people” and the attacker appears to have acted alone, Aas said.

One of the two wounded people undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital is an off-duty police officer, the commander said.

At 6:13 pm, police received a call about an assailant with a box and arrow attacking people in the center of Kongsberg and officers apprehended the suspect 44 minutes later after a “confrontation.”

“They are many crime scenes. This person moved over a wide area,” Aas said.

Norway’s outgoing prime minister, Erna Solberg, said that it was too soon to speculate about the motive for the “gruesome” attack.

She said that the tragedy would not affect Thursday’s transfer of power to new prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who described what happened in Kongsberg as “a cruel and brutal act.”

In a departure from standard police practice in Norway, where officers normally carry guns only with prior approval, the national police directorate said that members of the force would be armed until further notice.

“Due to the serious incident in Kongsberg where several people were killed and injured tonight, the police in Norway are temporarily armed,” the directorate said in a statement.

“This is an additional emergency measure. The police currently have no concrete indications that there is a change in the threat level in the country,” the force said. EFE alc/dr