Two people died and eight more were taken to hospital after the shooting at the London pub, which is described on its website as “Oslo’s biggest gay venue”.
Police received several calls about the shooting at 1:14 local time and arrived at the scene minutes later. They arrested the suspect three minutes after arrival, police said.
The suspect, accused of terrorism, is a Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, and was “known to the police,” but so far has only received “minor convictions,” prosecutor Christian Hatlo told reporters in Oslo on Saturday.
Hatlo said police had accused the detainee of “murder, attempted murder and terrorist acts.”
He said the terrorism charge was justified based on the number of injured and killed, the number of crime scenes and a “global assessment” indicating that the accused intended to “create serious fear in the population”.
At the time of the press conference, police had tried to interrogate the suspect, but had not yet succeeded, Hatlo said. The suspect was taken to the police station and police told CNN that there were currently no other suspects.
As for the charges, Hatlo said authorities will see “what the investigation shows.”
The suspect was armed with two weapons during the shooting, police said. They did not confirm which weapons he used due to the pending investigation.
There were wounded on the floor inside and outside the bar when police arrived. “The scene was chaotic, it was a warm night and there were a lot of people outside, so there were people running all over the place,” police told CNN.
Among the eight hospitalized, three are in critical condition. Another 14 victims were slightly injured.
In a statement posted to Facebook after the shooting, the London Pub condemned the incident as “absolutely horrible and pure evil”. The bar said all its employees were safe and expressed its condolences to the victims and their families.
The annual Oslo Pride parade, scheduled for Saturday, was canceled following the shootings following “clear advice and recommendations from the police.” Writing on Facebook, organizers asked everyone not to attend and said all Pride-related events were also canceled.
“We will follow the recommendations of the police and take care of each other. Warm thoughts and love are addressed to relatives, the injured and others affected,” said Oslo Pride leader Inger Kristin Haugsevje , and leader of the Association for Gender Diversity and Sexuality. Inge Alexander Gjestvang, in a joint statement.
“We will soon be proud and visible again, but today we will celebrate and share the celebrations of pride from home.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre also expressed his condolences to the victims, describing the shooting as “a cruel and deeply shocking attack on innocent people”.
“My thoughts go out to the victims and their families,” Støre said on Facebook. “We still don’t know what was behind this terrible act, but to the queer community that is now scared and in mourning, I mean we are all with you.”
The Speaker of the Norwegian Parliament, Masud Gharahkhani, also expressed his condolences.
“That something so brutal and terrible can happen. People were in the city to spend a holiday of diversity and love,” Gharahkhani said. “I also see over and over again what kind of hate comments abound on social media when we mark queer diversity. It’s sad and unacceptable.”