A half-naked knifeman, believed to be in his 30s, was shot dead after stabbing a police officer in the streets of Bislett in Oslo, Tuesday. The attacker was confirmed to commit a similar crime in 2019.
The police initially reported that multiple people had been stabbed but later stated that only one police officer was wounded. The Norwegian media released footage of the alleged knifeman. The man was seen naked from waist up while holding a knife.
The police patrol was driving into a building in Bislett to halt the man's action. The video displays the patrol car's attempt to stop the attacker by running him down before driving into a building between a flower shop and a cafe.
The man escaped, then attacked the vehicle and managed to open the car door before being shot, as the police spokesman Torgeir Brenden stated. He said that several shots were fired at the man, but no specifications if police officers in the car shot the attacker. He was rushed to the nearest hospital, where he was declared dead.
"We have so far no information that this is terror-related," Senior Police Chief Egil Joergen Brekke said during a news conference. "To us, this appears to be a stand-alone act, so that there is no reason to fear for the safety of the city for others."
They confirmed that there were no other injuries reported. The attacker is known by the police and has a history of the same crime.
On June 4, 2019, the attacker was arrested in Grunerlokka, Oslo, where a passerby was stabbed in the upper body several times. The victim survived the attack and was aided by a passerby who helped distract the knifeman. He had reportedly set fire to his clothes before charging five people with a knife.
The attacker reportedly shouted 'allahu akbar' during the June 2019 assault. He was shot with a stun gun by the police, then arrested. Prosecution and the defense sectioned him to compulsory mental health care. A local media also reported the same man was convicted for assaulting two police officers in 2015.
