Iranian refugee arrested and charged for ‘Islamist attack’ on Oslo gay bar on Friday came to Norway when he was 12

Two people were killed and 21 injured with 10 listed as critical after the gunman shot The London Pub in central Oslo, at gay bar’ before Pride in apparent terrorist attack

Terror suspect named as Iran-born plumber and ex-refugee 42-year-old Zaniar Matapour

Authorities said suspect is a high school dropout diagnosed with schizophrenia, PTSD and ‘delusions’ in his youth

State security services last spoke with Matapour, who has prior arrests, a month ago, but found no issue

The attack happened on the eve of the Pride Parade prompting the organizers of the Oslo LGBT+ event to cancelled – still thousands gathered in the streets in defiance of the raised threat levels

Leading public figures attended service held for victims at Oslo Cathedral that was broadcast on Norwegian national networks

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre urged Norwegians not to blame the country’s Muslim community, stating: ‘It is our responsibility that no one other than the person behind the attack is responsible’

Authorities in Norway charged a terror suspect with killing two people and injuring 21 more at an Oslo gay bar on Friday night. The alleged shooter has been identified as a 42-year-old plumber who emigrated to the country as a child.
Zaniar Matapour was born in Iranian Kurdistan before coming to Bergen, Norway as a refugee at the age of 12.
Matapour was arrested at the scene with the help of clubgoers around 1.15am, Saturday.
He was charged early Saturday morning with two counts of homicide, attempted murder and terrorism after the homophobic terror attack at a popular downtown LGBT watering hole, the London Pub.

After the deadly shooting inside the London Pub in downtown Oslo on Friday night, witnesses captured the image of a male suspect being wrestled to the ground by police with the help of revelers.
One woman described having to play dead to avoid the shooter’s gunfire.
The other site hit during the attack around 1.15am today was next door’s Herr Nilsen Jazz Club, where revelers described being hit with flying shards of glass. 
She said : ‘There was a woman who pulled me down and told me I had to play dead.’
The man then shot the table directly behind her. She escaped London Pub unharmed.
Police lawyer Christian Hatlo said: ‘Our overall assessment is that there are grounds to believe that he wanted to cause grave fear in the population.
The victims in Matapour’s alleged attack last night have not yet been identified.  

The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) investigated Matapour just a month ago, but decided he was ‘not an imminent threat’, Norwegian national broadcaster VG reported.
PST chief Roger Berg told a press conference on Saturday afternoon: ‘In May, the PST conducted interviews with the [suspected] perpetrator in connection with the fact he had shown interest in statements that are perceived as a violation of Islam.
‘It was not considered in these conversations that the [suspected] perpetrator had any intention of violence.’ 
Security services have raised the terror threat from Level 3, described as ‘ordinary’. to ‘extraordinary’ Level 5. The PST stated that Level 5 warning entails no special requirements among the population beyond added ‘vigilance’ and ‘a low threshold to contact the police’.  

Reassuring the minority Muslim population while addressing the incident on Saturday, Prime Minister Støre said: ‘I know that many Muslims are scared and despairing. Then it is our responsibility that no one other than the person behind the attack is responsible.
‘Let there be no doubt, we are one community, we are a diverse community.’

On Sunday leading politicians including Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre attended a service for the victims at Oslo Cathedral. Also present was Crown Princess Mette-Marit. Her husband, Crown Prince Haakon, missed the service with Covid.
King Harald, 82, also did not attend the memorial, but said yesterday that he was ‘horrified’ by the attack. The monarch added: ‘We must stand together to [defend] freedom, diversity and respect for each other.’ Videos shared to social media showed hundreds of Pride marchers gathering in Oslo nonetheless, seemingly spurred on by the previous night’s hate crime.  

The alleged shooter authorities said is a high school dropout with a long history of mental health issues, Matapour was sentenced to ten months in prison as a teen after he was arrested for a case of stabbing that happened at a school prom. 
However, he was acquitted by the Court of Appeal, according to court documents reviewed by Norwegian outlet NettaVisen. 
Matapour’s involvement in serious crime continued and in July 2019, he was charged with attempted murder and possession of a firearm. Again he was released by the courts on appeal.

Matapour’s first mental health diagnosis was made in the 1990s, with his listed conditions including paranoid schizophrenia, PTSD and ‘delusions’.  
The suspect’s attorney John Christian Elden, insisted that his client’s mental health conditions are taken into account by investigators in those cases. 
Prime Minister Støre urged Norwegians not to blame the country’s Muslim community, stating: ‘It is our responsibility that no one other than the person behind the attack is responsible’
Støre said: ‘I know that many Muslims are scared and despairing. Then it is our responsibility that no one other than the person behind the attack is responsible. 
‘Let there be no doubt, we are one community, we are a diverse community.’

‘We need to go through his medical history, if he has any. It’s not something that we’re aware of now.’ 
Oslo was due to hold its annual gay pride parade later on Saturday, but organizers cancelled the event amid fears of potential ‘copycat’ attacks.
Planners Oslo Pride wrote on Facebook: ‘Oslo Pride has received clear advice and a recommendation that the parade, Pride Park, and any other event in relation to Oslo Pride be cancelled. ‘We will follow the police’s recommendation and take care of each other’, lead organizer Inger Kristin Haugsevje added.

Oslo Police District confirmed last night: ‘Two people have been confirmed dead in the shooting episode. There are several seriously injured.’
National newspaper in Norway, VG, reported that ‘witnesses said people ran from the scene in panic’.
Oslo’s university hospital said it had gone on red alert following the shooting.
Olav Roenneberg, a journalist from Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, said he witnessed the shooting.

One survivor describing the incident said ‘I saw a man arrive at the site with a bag. He picked up a weapon and started shooting,’ speaking with the outlet NRK.
‘First I thought it was an air gun. Then the glass of the bar next door was shattered and I understood I had to run for cover.’
Police inspector Tore Soldal said two of the shooting victims died and 10 people were being treated for serious injuries, but none of them was believed to be life-threatening. Footage shared on social media, which has not been officially verified, appeared to show one man with a serious head wound.
It was reported that ‘up to 20 shots’ were fired in the nightclub.

He said that while the motive was unclear, the shooting had caused fear and grief in the LGBTQ community. Footage shared on social media, which has not been officially verified, appeared to show one man with a serious head wound.
It was reported that ‘up to 20 shots’ were fired in the nightclub.