Norway Police Open Fire After Gunman Hijacks Ambulance, Drives at Pedestrians

A Norwegian man has been charged with attempted murder after he stole an ambulance in Oslo and drove it into several pedestrians, including two small children.

The 32-year-old suspect is reported to have hijacked the ambulance with a shotgun after crashing his car nearby, according to Norwegian news network NRK. Chief of Staff Johan Fredriksen of the Oslo Police said the man deliberately drove the vehicle onto the pavement in order to hit pedestrians, and that he also tried to ram a police car.

During a police chase through the streets of the Norwegian capital Oslo, officers fired three shots at the ambulance before it hit a building, but not before the man was able to drive into two seven-month-old infants in a stroller and an elderly couple, reports national newspaper Aftenposten.  The victims’ injuries are not believed to be of a serious nature.

Once the man was subdued police found a large quantity of drugs along with a shotgun and an Uzi-type machine gun. A woman was also arrested later on weapons charges in connection to the case.

Police have said that while “it is too early to say anything about the motive”, they are investigating the fact the suspect previously shared propaganda by the extremist neo-Nazi ‘Nordic Resistance Movement’.

The suspect, who lives in the Oslo area, has been convicted of numerous crimes in the past for theft, drugs, weapon use, and threats of violence according to police information reported in the Norwegian press. In 2017 he was arrested after refusing to stop for police, resulting in another police chase, and was sentenced to four weeks in prison.

In the 2017 arrest warrant the judge said: “In the court’s opinion, there is a strong degree of probability that the defendant will again commit similar [crimes] if released. In its assessment, the court placed particular emphasis on the defendants being punished a number of times in the past, repeatedly for violations of the gun laws and for drug offences.

“He has also previously been convicted of threats, violence and robbery. The accused now seems to be in a phase where he has too little ability to refrain from committing to some very serious crimes.”