Authorities to rule on custody for suspect in Oslo gay bar shooting

Copenhagen, June 27, (dpa/GNA) – Oslo judicial officials are to rule on Monday, whether the man suspected of a fatal shooting attack on a gay bar in the Norwegian capital at the weekend, will be detained in custody while the investigation proceeds.

The ruling on the detention of the 43-year-old suspect, who is alleged to have fired shots around the London Pub gay bar in the early hours of Saturday, was expected during the course of Monday. Earlier reports said the suspect was 42.

The suspect, a Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin, was arrested within minutes of the shooting. Two men died in the attack, which Norway’s PST intelligence service has described as motivated by Islamist terrorism. Oslo police said one of the victims had been born in 1962, and the other in 1968.

A solidarity rally is planned for Oslo’s central city hall square for later on Monday, where the banners and flags intended for the Pride Parade that was to have been on Saturday will be displayed. The parade was cancelled for security reasons.

One of several theories that the police are working on is that the shooting was a hate crime targeting homosexuals.
GNA