He was injured by a police dog during the arrest, the police told NRK. According to operations manager Trond Egil Groth, a survey is now underway to see if anyone other than the man who attacked the police with a knife is injured.
– So far we have not come across anyone else who has been injured, but we have cordoned off the entire area and a massive investigation is taking place at the scene, says operations manager Trond Egil Groth to NRK.
– Do you know why he had a knife?
– It is far too early to say anything about. That is what we are working on now, investigating what has happened and the reason for what has happened.
According to Groth, the man is slightly injured.
– Bring a heavy knife
The witness Sivert Skui was at the fitness center nearby when he saw many police cars. Then the drama began.
– I see a man with a knife walking towards the police. The police back away and fire several shots into the ground. He starts stabbing the car, i.e. the tires on the car, and the window, Skui tells NRK.
Another witness confirms to NRK that the man punctured the tires of two cars and tried to attack the police.
Skui believes the police then tried to run over the man with the police car several times. The man is said to have got up after being hit. Groth does not want to comment on whether the police ran over the man, but says the police arrested the man “with the means they had at their disposal”.
– Eventually, more police cars, dog patrols and other things also arrived. So in the end they get control of him.
The man is said to have gone dressed in baggy clothes, and Skui says he looked aggressive. He describes the knife the man was carrying as “severe” – like a machete or a kitchen knife.
Skui believes it took five to ten minutes before the man was arrested. According to him, the drama began around 5.40pm.
Welfare check
The police were on the scene to assist the healthcare system with a so-called welfare check on the man when the incident took place.
The area is now cordoned off, and the police are interviewing witnesses.
– Upon our arrival, the patrol was met by a man, very active, with a knife held high. So the patrol had to withdraw and use voice and other aids to calm the man down, says operations manager Groth.
Shots fired
The man did not drop the knife, and the police had to fire warning shots at him. Groth says the police used a police dog and pepper spray to arrest the man.
He sustained injuries when the service dog held him down until police officers got control of him. According to a message the police have written on Twitter, the man appears to be slightly injured.
– He is local and to a modest extent known to us. He appears slightly injured. We are now investigating his apartment, making inquiries, securing the “crime scene” and questioning witnesses. No one else was injured, the police said shortly after 7 p.m.
The police have not yet notified the Bureau of the matter.
– We have notified many actors in this case, and I don’t think we should go out in the media with all those we have notified, says Groth.
