The arrest after the subway shooting was sentenced to detention in 2011, most recently convicted in January

Three quarters of an hour before the shooting episode, the accused man in his 30s is said to have threatened several people on Tveita. But the police had to prioritize another mission.

On Sunday evening, the police were notified that several shots had been fired inside a subway car on Skøyenåsen in Oslo . A large number of police forces were then sent to the scene.

There, police found two people who had been shot. A firearm was found by the police near the metro station.

Shortly afterwards, a man in his 30s was arrested. The shooting episode is now being investigated as an attempted murder. This is stated by the Oslo Police District.

The accused is a Norwegian citizen. He is well known by the police from before. The two victims have been confirmed to be out of danger. Both are Norwegian citizens in their late teens.

– Both were conscious when the police arrived at the scene, says Anne Alræk Solem, head of the Investigation Section for homicide in the Oslo police district.

Police say it is too early to say anything about the motive behind the assassination attempts. So far, they have no information that there is a relationship between the accused man and the victims. But the man in his 30s does not admit guilt.

Threatened people on Tveita

Three quarters of an hour before the shooting episode at Skøyenåsen Metro station, the man in his 30s is said to have threatened passers-by at the Sushi & Asian restaurant on Tveita. This is stated by Solem from the police.

– We are aware that the accused earlier in the evening allegedly threatened passers-by. We want to get in touch with people who may have information about what happened, she says to Aftenposten.

The police were notified of the incident at the restaurant on Tveita around 19.25. At 20.15, they were contacted about several shots at Skøyenåsen metro station.

– There was another incident that had to be resolved immediately. Therefore, no patrol was sent to the restaurant. Unfortunately, the incident happens on the subway afterwards. It is therefore important that witnesses who were at the restaurant at 19.25, get in touch, says Solem.

– Were there a limited number of patrols at work?

– I have no information about that. There was pressure on resources, and one had to prioritize, I have been told by the operations center. You had to go to an assignment that had to be solved immediately, Solem answers.

The police encourage both witnesses to the shooting episode at Skøyenåsen and the threat episode at the restaurant at Tveita to contact the police. They ask witnesses or others to get in touch via the tip address: https://tips.politiet.no/oslo.

Related to the shooting at the subway station

Police had hoped to question the accused man on Monday, but it has not been possible.

– Interrogation has not been possible on Monday, so we will try again tomorrow, Solem says.

The man’s defender, lawyer Daniel Storrvik, tells Aftenposten at 1 pm that he has just been with his client.

– He has not been in shape to give any questioning to the police, Storrvik says.

He does not plead guilty to attempted murder.

– My client admits that he is the perpetrator, ie that it is the right man who has been arrested, but he does not admit attempted murder, the defense lawyer says.

Defender: Not racistly motivated

The accused believes he acted in self-defense, the defender says. Prior to the shots being fired, a basket tackle must have occurred. Then the shots should have been fired.

On Sunday, the police stated that they are, among other things, investigating whether the shooting was racistly motivated. This rejects the accused man.

– He emphasizes that this was not racistly motivated, says the man’s defender.

He is said to have expressed that he will consent to custody on Tuesday.

– There will be questioning when he feels fit. We aim for it tomorrow, says Storrvik.

According to the plan, he will be produced for custody on Tuesday, the police say.

Sentenced to detention in 2011

The man in his 30s has been convicted a number of times. The most serious sentence came in 2011, when he was sentenced to detention. At the time, he was convicted of attempted murder after hitting another person in the head and face with an iron pipe.

He was then sentenced to six years’ detention, with a minimum term of four years.

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After the man was released in 2018, it was not long before he was convicted again. As far as Aftenposten knows, the most recent verdict against the man is from January this year.

Among other things, he was convicted of an episode of violence that took place in the summer of 2019. Then he allegedly hit and kicked another person in the face. The victim then suffered long-term nerve damage to the face.

He was also convicted of seven cases of violence, including against a police officer who helped arrest him after a basket case outside a nightclub in Oslo.

Aftenposten is aware that the man was scheduled to start serving his sentence in ten days.