Half-Naked Knifeman Reportedly Shouting 'Allakhu Akbar' Injures Police Officer in Oslo, Gets Shot

Last month, a man armed with a bow and arrow and a knife killed five people in the town of Kongsberg, outside Oslo.

A man armed with a knife injured a police officer in Bislett, a neighbourhood in north-central Oslo on Tuesday morning and was later shot dead by police, local media reported, citing officials.

The officer's injuries were not critical, a spokesman for the local police said.

"The perpetrator launched a physical attack against the police, harming a police officer who had to fire shots in self-defence," police inspector Egil Jørgen Brekke told national broadcaster NRK.

A video has emerged online, showing a half-naked knife-wielding man attacking a person in the patrol car.

Man with knife attacks passers-by in Norway, is shot dead. #Oslo #Bislett pic.twitter.com/GXn6ZWL8Mb

— विकास त्रिपाठी (@vikasjournolko) November 9, 2021

The identity of the attacker has not been revealed. The newspaper Nettavisen, however, initially identified the perpetrator as a 33-year-old Russian citizen, later to report his as Kazakhstani national, who has previously been convicted of a knife attack on an open street in Gründerløkka district in Oslo in June 2019. He was subsequently sentenced to compulsory mental health care after attempting to kill one person and threatening to kill several others with a knife. The man himself claimed that he does not remember what happened that morning, Nettavisen reported.

A previously convicted Russian national wielding a knife in central #Oslo today was rammed by patrol car and shot by police. The man died in the incident, reports @Nettavisen whose journalist happened to be on the scene https://t.co/CfOYDOSzdo pic.twitter.com/ubixwT2kVL

— Fredrik Drevon (@FredrikDrevon) November 9, 2021

The police said they have no knowledge of other victims in connection with the incident in Bislett.

"None other than the police officer and the perpetrator were directly involved. We know that the message that originally went out was that the perpetrator ran after a person with a knife, but there is nothing so far that indicates that there were more injured or more victims," police inspector Egil Jørgen Brekke said at a press conference, as quoted by national broadcaster NRK.

According to the police, there is currently nothing that indicates that the incident in Bislett was an act of terror.

“The motive for the action is unclear, and it is too early to conclude. We investigate broadly. The police don't rule out anything, but so far nothing indicates that terror was the motive,” Egil Jørgen Brekke said, while admitting that the perpetrator was known to the police from before.

However, Nettavisen reported that the perpetrator quoted the Muslim creed during the attack and shouted “Allahu akbar”.

Norwegian Police Security Service PST has been informed about the case and is in dialogue with the Oslo Police District about this case, PST senior adviser Anett Aamodt told Nettavisen.

The Olso police assured that locals don't have to fear for safety after the incident.

"For us, this appears as a stand-alone act, so that there is no reason to fear for the safety of the city for others. This is a person who is known to us in the past and who has a history. Based on that, we believe that there is nothing to indicate that it is an act of terrorism," Egil Jørgen Brekke said to the press.

Barely a month ago, Danish citizen and Muslim convert Espen Andersen Bråthen was arrested for killing five people in the Norwegian town of Kongsberg. According to local media, Bråthen had converted to Islam and became subsequently radicalised. He has been known to the Norwegian police since 2017 and was described by a close friend as a “ticking bomb”. Furthermore, he had several convictions, including a restraining order for death threats against family members. However, the media largely presented him as suffering from mental illness, as he was subsequently handed over to health authorities.