A man who is reported to have expressed anti-immigration views shot up a mosque in Norway during Islamic celebrations for Eid Al-Adha, marking the end of Ramadan according to reports:
The man arrested for an armed attack on a mosque in the Norwegian capital Oslo during the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha expressed anti-immigrant views and admiration for Nazi figures, local police said.
The alleged gunman, who is 21 years old but hasn’t been named, also praised the perpetrator of the recent El Paso, Texas, mass shooting on social media before attacking the mosque, Norwegian media reported. Police said that they are investigating the posts.
The alleged gunman stormed the Al-Noor Islamic Center Saturday armed with several weapons and opened fire. He failed to kill anyone as he was overpowered by worshipers who then surrendered him to police. One elderly man was injured in the shooting.
Police say they are investigating the attack on the mosque as a terrorist act.
“The fact that the aggressor entered a mosque armed and from the investigation so far has been found to have expressed hostile attitudes against immigrants has led the police to investigate this attack as an attempted act of terrorism,” Police Chief Rune Skjold said in a statement.
According to Mr. Skjold, the alleged shooter had in the past expressed sympathies for Vidkun Quisling, Norway’s leader of a Nazi puppet government installed after Nazi Germany occupied the country during World War II.
The alleged gunman is also suspected of having murdered his stepsister before the attack on Saturday afternoon, a police spokesman said.
He was charged with murder and attempted murder on Sunday, after police found the dead body of his 17-year-old stepsister in a home near the mosque.
This weekend marks the celebration of Eid al-Adha, one of the most important holidays of the Islamic calendar. Police heightened security for the Eid festivities on Sunday but no incidents were reported.
Mohamed Rafiq, a worshiper who was in the mosque during the shooting, disarmed the attacker and pinned him to the floor, police said.“There is no doubt that the swift and firm response from the persons inside the mosque stopped the aggressor and prevented further consequences. Trying to neutralize an armed person is always dangerous. These persons showed great courage,” Mr. Skjold said.
Norway has a recent history of nationalist terror. In 2011, Anders Breivik, an unemployed far-right extremist, murdered 77 people, predominantly children and teenagers who were attending a summer camp of a left-leaning political party. (source, source)