One person has been shot after a gunman entered the Al-Noor Islamic Centre in Bærum, near the Norwegian capital, Oslo police have said.
The incident took place at 4:00pm local time on Saturday, with police operations manager Per Ivar Iversen telling Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that worshippers inside the mosque had overpowered the man just before police arrived.
Officers arrived on the scene some half an hour later after the initial report and arrested the suspect, believed to be in his 20s, with Mr Iversen confirming that the suspect “is a white man. Everything indicates that the suspect is a man who is ethnic Norwegian.”
Mosque director Irfan Mushtaq told local newspaper Budstikka that the man who shot one of his members was “wearing a helmet and uniform”, however the police did not confirm the details of what the suspect was wearing.
The victim, reportedly a 75-year-old man, was shot but according to police speaking to NRK, the injuries are not life-threatening.
“The man carried two shotgun-like weapons and a pistol. He broke through a glass door and fired shots,” Mr Mushtaq told TV 2.
At the time of the attack, three men were in the building praying: the septuagenarian and two other men. When they saw the perpetrator, the two other men fled to safety while the 75-year-old man “was quick and grabbed him immediately”, Mr Mushtaq said.
“He overpowered him while he was shooting. He ended up in a scuffle with the perpetrator, and was punched in the eye while trying to gain control,” he continued, adding that one of the other men returned and hit the gunman over the back of the head, overpowering him.
Oslo police say that there were several weapons belonging to the suspected found inside the Al-Noor Islamic Centre, but say that nothing indicates more people were involved in the attack.
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