Explosion, Shooting Rock Norway
Earlier Friday, an explosion tore through several buildings near the government headquarters in Oslo, Norway. Soon after, reports came that several people were shot at a youth camp outside of Oslo by a gunman disguised as a police officer. While it isn't clear if the incidents are related at this time, authorities have confirmed multiple deaths and injuries. Robert Siegel speaks with Hallvard Sandberg, foreign news correspondent for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, about the developing story in Norway.
MICHELE NORRIS, host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
And I'm Robert Siegel.
This evening, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was defiant. I have a message for those who attack us, he said. They shall not destroy our democracy and our commitment to a better world. We are a proud nation, and no one can bomb us into silence.
The prime minister's message came after two bloody attacks in Norway today. In the center of Oslo, a bomb damaged the government building that houses the prime minister's office. At least seven people died in the blast and several others were injured.
Meanwhile, in an incident that Norwegian police say was connected to the bombing, a gunman dressed as a policeman opened fire at an island summer camp. The camp was run by the Norwegian Labour Party, the party of the prime minister. At least 10 individuals are confirmed dead there.
Hallvard Sandberg is a reporter with the Norwegian Broadcasting Company. He's been reporting all day on this story. And, Mr. Sandberg, first, the idea that these two attacks were connected, what do the police mean when they say that?
Mr. HALLVARD SANDBERG (Foreign News Correspondent, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation): They say that, obviously, when the two violent attacks against political targets happened almost simultaneously in Norway, they, in a way, they seem connected. And also, these gunman, this person that was shooting people in this youth camp, he has also been observed in connection with the bomb in Oslo. But that is the only clue we have that these things are connected, that the police say they are connected.
SIEGEL: That man, the man who's believed to have been the gunman on the island, at the summer camp, he is in custody. What's known about him?
Mr. SANDBERG: What the police has told about the gunman is that he's a 32-year-old blond Norwegian citizen, a guy that have been born in Norway and lived all his life in Norway, from a nice neighborhood in the western part of the capital. And he's, at this time, being questioned by the police, and he's open and talking about the things that he has done.
SIEGEL: Do the police in Norway seem to think that this one man was responsible alone both for the bombing and for the shootings at the summer camp?
Mr. SANDBERG: They still keep it open that he has that kind of support group, or there were other people involved in this. They keep it open. But it seems more and more likely that this was the act of one strange individual.
SIEGEL: With no motive evident to anyone so far, you're saying?
Mr. SANDBERG: Well, there's always a motive for what you do, and they are -almost everyone is talking about ultra right groups like Neo-Nazi groups. And the attack to the Labour Party, the Socialist is a - maybe that is the target for them.
SIEGEL: I just want - I want to ask you about - one part of all this today which was, first, there was the explosion in Oslo. And then, as I understand it, the teenagers at the summer camp on the island suddenly saw this man dressed as a police officer who told them he wanted to talk with them about the explosion. Is that what you've heard?
Mr. SANDBERG: Yes, that's what we heard. That's what the witnesses have said. They also said that about one hour after the explosion, he showed up and said that he had the information about this attack in Oslo. They gathered around him. He started to shoot. And then he had tried to get people to come back afterwards. And then he has supposed to have gone around on the island and hunting for people. And we don't know yet how many people are killed. The police is saying now at the press conference that they expect the number of casualties to increase.
SIEGEL: Well, Mr. Sandberg, thank you very much for talking with us today.
Mr. SANDBERBG: Okay.
SIEGEL: That's Hallvard Sandberg, reporter for the Norwegian Broadcasting Company, speaking to us from Oslo.
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