Norway bow and arrow attack - live: Man accused of killing five ‘had shown signs of radicalisation’

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Investigations into the attack are ongoing.

Kongsberg police has said that it’s “reasonably clear” that some of the killings took place after the police confronted the suspect.

They added that it was “possible” all the killings took place after the initial confrontation where the suspect escaped police detainment.

Police were alerted of reports that a man was shooting a bow and arrow at people at 6.12pm and subsequently made contact with the attacker at 6.18pm. Officers were then shot by several arrows, causing them to lose contact with the attacker who was able to get away.

29 minutes after the initial confrontation, police apprehended the attacker and arrested him at 6.47pm.

According to Kongsberg police, the five victims of the attack on Wednesday evening have not yet been formally identified, but relatives have been notified “as a reservation.”

Police chief Ole Bredrup Saeverud said officers are still investigating the incident and currently believe there is no one else connected with the attack.

Silje Limstrand, a 22-year-old kindergarten employee was on her way to Coop supermarket on Wednesday evening, the location where the attack started reportedly, when police stopped her from going further due to the attack.

"It feels weird, unreal. Kongsberg is a small town where you feel so safe ... It is scary," she said, adding she had not seen the suspect of any of his victims.

"It's scary to think that I was there at the same time as the suspect," she told Reuters.

Police confirmed that four women and a man were among the victims of the Norway bow and arrow attack.

The ages of all the victims were between 50 and 70-years-old.

The man, who was not further identified, has confessed to going on a rampage in Kongsberg, southwest of the capital Oslo, prosecutor Ann Iren Svane Matthiassen said, adding he was was questioned overnight.

Kongsberg church has announced it has opened its doors to the public following the bow and arrow attacks in the city on Wednesday.

“The church will be open from 9.00am for everyone who needs someone to talk to, be with, light a candle, or just be quiet,” the church wrote on its Facebook page.

Parish priest Reidar Aasbø the news adding: “The entire Kongsberg community is affected by this. Now, we’ll stand together and take care of each other,” the church wrote on its website.

A Danish man who is in custody in Norway suspected of carrying out a bow-and-arrow attack which killed five people is a Muslim convert who had previously been flagged as having being radicalised, police said.

“There earlier had been worries of the man having been radicalised,” Police chief Ole B Saeverud told a press conference.

Our reporter Thomas Kingsley has the full story:

Police prosecutor Ann Irén Svane Mathiassen confirmed that other weapons were used during the incident, without giving additional details of the weapons, Norwegian news agency NTB were told.

Police said they confirmed information about the suspect because of “rumours circulating on social media about possible perpetrators.”

The bow and arrow attack is Norway’s deadliest since far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 people on the island of Utoya in July 2011.

Most of the victims were at a children’s Labour Party summer camp on the island.

Police have confirmed that they are investigating whether this attack is linked to terrorism.

A man has been charged with the killing of five people and injuring two others with a bow and arrow.

In a statement, police said the suspect is a 37-year-old Danish citizen who lives in Kongsberg. No other details were released.

The suspect was apprehended after the attack on Wednesday night in the town, which is 50 miles south-west of the country’s capital, Oslo.

Our reporter Thomas Kingsley has the full report: