Terrorist attack in Norway - October 13th 2021

Last night Norway experienced an act of terrorism, taking five lives and wounding two more. 

The perpetrator of this attack was Espen Andersen Bråthen, a 37-year-old Danish citizen. He appears to have been a convert to Islam. Bråthen has spent most of his life in the city of Kongsberg where the attack was carried out. The attack took place less than a kilometre from his childhood home.

Our thoughts are with the affected community and families.

The Norwegian police had previous knowledge of the perpetrator and had received several messages of concern throughout the years leading up to the attack. In May 2020, he was convicted of threats against his own parents after breaking into their home, refusing to leave, threatening them, and leaving behind a revolver on their sofa.

Further back in time, he had been convicted on drug-related charges.

This paints a complicated picture of the perpetrator and potential motivation behind the attack. 

The perpetrator will be assessed for criminal sanity.

We wish to express support for members of the Norwegian Muslim community. Many are afraid, and have good reason to be, of the reaction of Islamophobes to yesterday's act of mass violence. It is key we remember, these were the acts of one man.

We will be tracking this event as more information comes to light. A few of the elements we’re following up on and gaining more insights about include:

Social media:
The social media use of the perpetrator, including content that has been removed, as well as the impact and spread of bystander footage, conspiracy theories, and false information surrounding this attack.

Gender Aspect:
The fact that four out of five victims of the attack were women, in light of a complicated and violent family history.

Radicalization:
The process of radicalization and potential ideological affiliations and beliefs of the perpetrator.

Police response:
The total time duration from when police were informed to when the suspect was apprehended was 34 minutes. The police made contact with the perpetrator at 18:18, 5 minutes after the attack was first reported. The police subsequently lost track of the perpetrator before apprehending him at 18:47. The five murders were committed during this time span. We are reviewing this and other information about the attack itself, as well as what knowledge the police had prior to the attack, including messages of concern regarding his radicalization and other issues.

Islamophobic reaction:
Terrorist attacks such as this often inspire a violent and hateful reaction from islamophobes. As the perpetrator is described as a convert to Islam, we believe it’s imperative that we track such hatred and ensure the safety of the Norwegian Muslim community as an integral part of Norwegian society.

As an organization with deep roots in Norway, we will be following this event and the aftermath closely, and make ourselves available to relevant authorities and organizations that need support as they are developing responses and gathering information to gain an overview of the situation.