Norwegian ‘right-wing Christian’ charged by police
A “right-wing Norwegian Christian” is being questioned by police after at least 91 people were killed in a shooting on Utoya Island and a bomb blast in Oslo.
Witnesses said the gunman, identified by police as a 32-year-old Norwegian, moved across the small, wooded Utoya holiday island on Friday firing at random as young people scattered in fear.
Police detained the tall, blond suspect, named by local media as Anders Behring Breivik, and charged him for the island killing spree and the Oslo bomb blast.
Deputy Police Chief Roger Andresen would not speculate on the man’s motives but told a news conference: “He describes himself as a Christian, leaning toward right-wing Christianity, on his Facebook page.”
“As of now we have 84 dead at Utoya,” Andresen said. “In Oslo, with the explosion and the impact it had, we are not yet sure if that number is final. At Utoya, the water is still being searched for more victims.”
Suspect bought fertiliser
Anders Behring Breivik bought 6 tonnes of fertiliser in May, a farm supply firm said on Saturday.
Some kinds of agricultural fertiliser have been used in the past to make explosives.
The suspect placed the order through his company, the supplier said.
“These are goods that were delivered on 4 May,” Oddny Estenstad, a spokeswoman at agricultural supply chain Felleskjoepet Agri, told Reuters, without giving the exact type of fertiliser purchased.
“It was 6 tonnes of fertiliser, which is a small, normal order for a standard agricultural producer.
“I do not know him or the company, except that it is a company that has contacted us in a normal manner and ordered fertiliser and had it delivered,” she said.
Breivik’s Facebook page appeared to have been blocked by late Friday. Earlier, it had listed interests including bodybuilding, conservative politics and freemasonry.
Norwegian media said he had set up a Twitter account a few days ago and posted a single message on July 17 saying: “One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests.”
About 10 policemen were outside the address registered to his name in a four-storey red brick building in west Oslo.
The Norwegian daily Verdens Gang quoted a friend as saying he became a right-wing extremist in his late 20s.
It said he expressed strong nationalistic views in online debates and had been a strong opponent of multiculturalism.