Hansine witnessed parts of the tragic incident in Kongsberg when she was to have a smoke on the terrace at 6 pm on Wednesday.
She lives not far from Coop Extra, and the plan was to have a smoke before she went to the store to shop.
– I sat down on the terrace, and then I heard that it smelled so bad. Then I saw a lady who walked very fast and appeared. Then I thought: What is happening now?
Hansine continues:
– Then I saw a man on the street corner with arrows in a quiver on his shoulder and the bow in his hand, she says.
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Escape for life
She says she saw the man in a flash.
– Then I saw people flee for their lives. One of them looked like a woman holding a child in her hand, says Hansine.
She says she was asked to re-enter the apartment by a person who was on the street level, probably a police officer. She realized the seriousness when she turned on the news on TV.
– I’m very grateful that I took that smoke, otherwise I could have ended up in the middle on the way to the store. The smoke saved me, she says.
At around 6 pm on Wednesday, the police were notified that a man was shooting at random people with a bow and arrow. A man has been arrested and he acted alone, according to police. Five people were killed and two were injured.
TV 2 has also spoken to other witnesses about the dramatic incident.
Witnesses state that they have, among other things, seen lifeless people and heard screams and howls from the street.
– IN SHOCK: Cohabitants Ida Skinnes (18) and Armantas Dragunas (20) heard howls and screams in the street outside their apartment in Kongsberg. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB and privately
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– Put out
Ida Skinnes (18) and cohabitant Armantas Dragunas (20) witnessed intense howls and a huge police presence just outside their apartment.
Ida was on her way out for an evening trip, when her roommate shouted that she should stay inside.
– Then I heard howls and screams outside, people running and then a lot of blue lights, Skinnes says to TV 2.
She and her cohabitant clicked on news sites to read about what had happened.
Then they got backwards welded.
– We are completely put out
The area they live in, Hyttegata on the west side in Kongsberg, they describe as very quiet and calm.
– We realized that something serious had happened, but we had never dreamed that there could be more who were killed. We are completely put out and shocked that something like this could happen here, says Skinnes.
Ever since 6.30 pm on Wednesday, there has been a spice of armed police and ambulance personnel in the streets outside their apartment.
The area is completely cordoned off and several helicopters have circled over Kongsberg throughout the evening.
– The whole building we live in is shaken by all the helicopter activity above us. This is really disgusting, says Skinnes.
The police have also gone from door to door in the area.
– The police have been to our door twice to check that we are doing well and that we are staying indoors. No, this is completely unreal. I’m in shock, says Dragunas.
Several killed
Their completely closed shop, Coop Extra, is just a stone’s throw away from their apartment. The couple is there almost every day.
– I was there no later than 12 o’clock today. The service there is so nice. They talk and smile to all customers, says Dragunas.
Will notify relatives before they go out with the number of fatalities
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Coop confirms that parts of the serious incident of violence at Kongsberg took place in one of the chain’s stores.
The young couple has lived in the apartment in Hyttegata for one year and is greeting several others in the area.
As they try to comfort each other in the apartment, they think of those who have lost loved ones tonight.
– I have almost no words. I am shaken, says the 20-year-old.
– Heard terrible cries of death
TV 2 has also spoken to another witness in the area, Thomas Nilsen, he heard screams of death outside his apartment which is about 35 meters from one of the crime scenes.
– I heard some terrible screams of death. It was absolutely awful, I have never heard anything like this before, says Nilsen.
Shortly afterwards, there was a large police force of around 20 to 30 police officers and eventually also military personnel.
– There was a gang that stood around and helped one of the injured. There was a lot of howling and screaming. Then I heard that they used defibrillators, then I realized that it was about life, he says.
He also tells of police officers who walked around and shone in the area and knocked on doors. The officers told Nilsen that they were looking for injured people.
– Eventually a woman came who had helped, she told that there was a lot of blood. It is very shocking that something like this is happening in such a peaceful area, says Nilsen.
– It hurts
Aras Mohamad (42) works as a hairdresser close to the crime scenes and has been suspended for Wednesday’s incident.
– My son had a football match and was going to leave the hair salon and look at him when I discovered all the police cars and wondered what in the world was happening, says Mohamad.
– Aras Mohamad is shocked that more people have been killed in quiet, cozy Kongsberg. Photo: Erik Edland / TV 2
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He fished up the phone and read the news of what had happened in the neighborhood.
– It hurts that more people have been killed here, he says and looks around at all the police roadblocks and police cars that are surrounded on the West Side.
He has worked as a hairdresser in this area for a year and is shocked that such an incident could happen here.
– It is a very quiet and calm city, with wonderful people. So I almost do not know what to say when something like this has happened here, says the 42-year-old.
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