'Iranian-Norwegian' terrorist kills two at Oslo gay bar before arrest

‘Iranian-Norwegian’ terrorist kills two in attack on gay bar: Moment suspect is arrested after storming club in Oslo and opening fire leaving two dead and 21 injured as Pride events are cancelled over fears of follow up attacks

• Clubbers at LGBT+ haunt helped cops pin down suspect in deadly terror attack
• Two were killed and 21 more injured, with ten seriously hurt in spray of gunfire
• One woman played dead as the table behind her was shot at in rain of bullets
• Iranian Norwegian, 42, charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorism
• Pride events across Oslo now cancelled after fears of ‘copycat’ hate crimes

Two people were killed and 21 injured after a suspected terrorist gunned down clubbers at an LGBT+ hotspot in Oslo last night.

An Iranian Norwegian suspect, 42, has been charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorism.

He was known to police, having previously faced charges of drugs possession and carrying a knife.

The unidentified man was detained by cops on the scene with the help of revellers at London Pub, one of two clubs targeted in the attack.

Police attend the scene in Oslo in the early hours this morning immediately after the shooting

The other site hit during the attack around 1.15am today was next door’s Herr Nilsen Jazz Club, where revellers described being hit with flying shards of glass.

One woman was forced to play dead to escape the gunman’s fire. She told VG Norway: ‘There was a woman who pulled me down and told me I had to play dead.’

The man then shot the table directly behind her. She escaped London Pub unharmed.

Police lawyer Christian Hatlo said: ‘Our overall assessment is that there are grounds to believe that he wanted to cause grave fear in the population.

‘We need to go through his medical history, if he has any. It’s not something that we’re aware of now.’ 

Oslo was due to hold its annual gay pride parade later on Saturday, but organisers cancelled the event amid fears of potential follow up attacks.

Norwegians paid their respects at the scene this morning, hours after the deadly terror attack

Video on social media shows emergency services outside London Pub, a gay nightclub in Oslo at 1.15am on Saturday morning. Police have arrested a suspect at the scene (pictured)

Two people have been killed and several seriously injured in a shooting at a nightclub in Norway, police have confirmed (pictured is the scene outside the nightclub)

Organisers Oslo Pride wrote on Facebook this morning: ‘Oslo Pride has received clear advice and a recommendation that the parade, Pride Park, and any other event in relation to Oslo Pride be cancelled.

‘We will follow the police’s recommendation and take care of each other’, lead organiser Inger Kristin Haugsevje added.

Oslo Police District confirmed last night: ‘Two people have been confirmed dead in the shooting episode. There are several seriously injured.’

National newspaper in Norway, VG, reported that ‘witnesses said people ran from the scene in panic’.

Oslo’s university hospital said it had gone on red alert following the shooting.

The chaotic scene in Oslo is pictured, with emergency services on the pavement treating the wounded. Police have made an arrest

Olav Roenneberg, a journalist from Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, said he witnessed the shooting.

‘I saw a man arrive at the site with a bag. He picked up a weapon and started shooting,’ Mr Roenneberg told NRK.

‘First I thought it was an air gun. Then the glass of the bar next door was shattered and I understood I had to run for cover.’

Police inspector Tore Soldal said two of the shooting victims died and 10 people were being treated for serious injuries, but none of them was believed to be life-threatening.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a Facebook post that ‘the shooting outside London Pub in Oslo tonight was a cruel and deeply shocking attack on innocent people’.

He said that while the motive was unclear, the shooting had caused fear and grief in the LGBTQ community.

Video on social media shows emergency services outside London Pub, a gay nightclub in Oslo (pictured, file photo) at 1.15am on Saturday morning. Two were killed in the terror attack

The London Pub gay nightclub in central Oslo is pictured on a map of the Norwegian capital

‘We all stand by you,’ Mr Gahr Stoere wrote.

Christian Bredeli, who was at the bar, told Norwegian newspaper VG that he hid on the fourth floor with a group of about 10 people until he was told it was safe to come out.

‘Many were fearing for their lives,’ he said. ‘On our way out we saw several injured people, so we understood that something serious had happened.’

Images online have showed nightclubbers with blood on their faces receiving treatment from emergency service responders.

Footage shared on social media, which has not been officially verified, appeared to show one man with a serious head wound.

Oslo Police District also said that a person has been arrested near the scene shortly after the incident (pictured)

It was reported that ‘up to 20 shots’ were fired in the nightclub.

Norway’s BNN Newsroom tweeted: ‘The police ask people in the area to move away, to make room for ambulances.’ 

A large police response was underway, with a number of ambulances in the area treating the wounded.

Helicopters hovered above central Oslo while ambulance and police car sirens were heard across the city.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted this morning: ‘London stands with Oslo. Our thoughts and solidarity are with the victims, their families and all those affected by this horrific attack, hours before Oslo’s #Pride was due to take place. #LoveIsLove and hate will never win.’

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