By Atila Altuntas
STOCKHOLM (AA): Norwegian police on Sunday launched a terror investigation into an armed attack on an Afghan mosque in Baerum city.
A 21-year-old gunman on Saturday was arrested after he attacked the Al-Noor Islamic Centre in Baerum, around 20km from Oslo.
The attack took place one day before the Muslim religious holiday of Eid al-Adha.
“The attacker is Philip Manshaus, a Norwegian citizen known for his anti-immigrant and far-right views,” local broadcaster NRK cited Oslo Police Chief Rune Skjold as saying.
“The man carried two shotgun-like weapons and a pistol. He broke through a glass door and fired shots,” Irfan Mushtaq, a board member, told TV2.
The gunman was overpowered by people at the mosque before police arrived, Skjold said adding that Afghan national Mohamed Rafiq was injured while confronting the attacker.
“One of our members has been shot by a white man with a helmet and uniform,” Mushtaq, head of the mosque, told local media.
Mushtaq said that the man had carried multiple weapons, but that he had been subdued by a member of the mosque.
Mushtaq himself had arrived at the scene shortly after being alerted about the gunman, and had gone to the back of the building while waiting for police to arrive.
“Then I see that there are cartridges scattered and blood on the carpets, and I see one of our members is sitting on the perpetrator, covered in blood,” Mushtaq told Norwegian newspaper VG.
Assistant chief of police Rune Skjold told a press conference: “He is around 20 years old, a Norwegian citizen from the area.”
Additional report by The Muslim News
[Map of Norway by Saqib/Creative Commons]
