Norway police shoot man as stolen ambulance hits people
October 22, 2019
An armed man stole an ambulance and drove it into several people in the Norwegian capital of Oslo on Tuesday, police said.
Authorities arrested the man after firing on the vehicle. The 32-year-old Norwegian was not injured and is suspected of attempted murder, police said.
"The ambulance was hijacked. The three personnel who were in the ambulance were physically unharmed but of course shaken by the incident," an Oslo University Hospital spokesman told local news agency NTB.
"Some minutes later one of our other ambulances managed to stop the hijacked vehicle by crashing into it. Then the police came after the crash and got him," he said.
Public broadcaster NRK showed video of an ambulance driving in the Torshov neighborhood while several gunshots rang out.
Mother, children and elderly injured
An elderly couple and a mother pushing two children in a stroller were hit by the hijacked ambulance. The woman and the children were taken to the hospital. All were slightly injured, including the two babies.
Police officer Erik Hestvik told German news agency dpa that a 25-year-old woman was arrested hours later in connection with the incident. He said the pair were previously known to police. The woman will face charges of possession of a firearm.
Police wrote on Twitter that the woman appeared to be under the influence of drugs.
Witnesses described how the suspect "intentionally" drove the ambulance onto the sidewalk.
Police said that after the arrest they found what appeared to be illegal drugs, as well as a shotgun and semi-automatic weapon.
What was the motive?
Authorities stated it was still too early to speculate over a motive behind the attack.
"There is nothing to indicate that this incident is terrorism related," Oslo police operations leader Erik Hestvik said.
According to local media reports, investigators are examining whether the pair had contact with right-wing extremist groups.
kmm,aw,jcg/se (Reuters, AP, dpa)