Friends of the man who was shot and killed by police on Tuesday, describe him as a caring person who was open about the fact that he was struggling with drugs. They are in shock, and think the whole thing should have been prevented.
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– There are so many emotions. It was a boy we all loved, and we are only a fraction of those he knew. He has so many different friends, says one friend of the man who was shot by the police on Tuesday.
He himself has known the man for five years. VG meets him at restaurant Istanbul together with two other friends, who had known him for 15 years.
The three all describe him as someone who was kind and caring, but who was also open about the fact that he struggled mentally, and with intoxication.
That was also the reason why he was sentenced to compulsory mental health care in December 2020, after a knife attack at Ankerbrua in Oslo in 2019. Afterwards he explained that he could not remember episodes.
The friends say that it was difficult for the man to handle that he had done this.
– We all remember him in a sober state. But those problems take over. He regrets it, but does not remember what he has done.
Now they wonder how the man could end up walking around with a knife in the streets again so soon after, why he did not get more help, and why he had to die.
Background: This happened at Bislett on Tuesday.
– Gone gradually
Police have confirmed that the man on Monday released what they describe as a short-lived leave from health institution. But it was not the first time he was on leave, according to friends. When he was out on leave, he had a duty to report every day, they say.
– He was on leave all the time, they say, and add:
– The health service must help, they can not just let people out.
About two months ago, they say the man got drunk when he was on leave, and according to them, he said that he needed help.
– It’s a cry for help. It’s not like he’s been released as a brand new person. No one says he is completely innocent, but this could have been prevented, the friend says.
VG has so far not been able to independently confirm that he has taken drugs on leave. The police did not want to comment on whether the man had been on leave before, or whether he had a duty to report on leave.
Although the friends describe that alcohol and drugs took over more in the man’s life two years ago, they are clear that they do not recognize themselves in a picture of him as a dangerous and “ticking bomb”.
– Those problems take precedence, but have not been an evil person or a terrorist. It has been gradual. It was a boy we all loved, and we were only a fraction of those who were.
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LOW DOWN FLOWERS: Several friends and acquaintances of the man who was shot on Tuesday gathered on Tuesday night to lay flowers in the street. 1 of 2Photo: HELGE MIKALSEN
–– Was always there for his friends
The man’s friends are keen to point out that he was not only a struggler, but also a social person with many friends and acquaintances who had done a lot of different things in his life. He has previously played roles in several films, and he had a background from the Theater Academy.
They say they now also feel the feeling of whether they could or should have done more to help.
– When you are thrown out on your own when you are struggling from before, in the same environment and the same world, it is a bit limited what friends can do for you as well.
One episode the friend draws in when he describes the man is when he himself had his first son a little over four years ago, who became ill several times and cried at night.
– Then he came in the middle of the night several times and joined the emergency room, and was there all night and brought food to us. I know him as such a person. He was always there for his friends and supported them, he says.
Another episode the friends tell about, is when they walked past an outsider in a park – and the man ran in and fetched a duvet and pillow, because it was cold outside.
Attack with a knife
Videos from Bislett Tuesday morning, show a dramatic course of events. A video VG has gained access to shows a police car driving on a man with a knife in his hand. Shortly afterwards, the door to the police car opens, and the man then attacks the police.
Police have explained that the man was about to attack a person with a knife when they arrived at the scene and stopped him by driving on him.
– Then the perpetrator attacked the police by trying to get into the car, where there has then been a situation where he was shot and arrested, the task leader Torgeir Brenden in the police has explained.
The man’s friends say they recognized their friend in the videos that spread on social media. Then they heard that the police had shot and killed him.
– It’s very unreal.
They question whether the police could not have done more to calm the friend down before he had attacked the police, when they drove him down.
– They could have solved it in other ways. Last time he actually used violence against a person, then the police did not kill him. They may not have been prepared for something like this, they believe.
– This has happened to our friend, so now we want to know why, and what happens in the future.
The police have previously confirmed that the special unit will routinely investigate the police’s actions in the case.
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