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Oslo's Pride march called off after shooting

The Local/AFP
The Local/AFP - [email protected]
Oslo's Pride march called off after shooting
A Pride event in the Norwegian capital has been cancelled after a deadly shooting (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)

The Pride march that was due to take place in Norway's capital Oslo on Saturday afternoon has been called off after deadly overnight shootings.

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The Pride march that was due to take place in Norway's capital Oslo on Saturday afternoon has been called off after deadly overnight shootings, including near a gay bar, organisers said.

"All events linked to Oslo Pride have been cancelled" following "clear" recommendations by police, the organisers of the march wrote on Facebook. Police said earlier they were investigating the shootings, which left two dead and at least 14 wounded, as a "terrorist attack".

 "The police are investigating the events as a terrorist act," said a police statement. A suspect was arrested after the shootings, which occurred at around 1:00 am local time (2300 GMT Friday) in three locations, including a gay bar in central Oslo.

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"Now everything indicates that there was only one person who committed this act," police official Tore Barstad told a press briefing. Police added that two weapons had been seized.

A witness quoted by the paper mentioned the use of an automatic weapon -- which the police did not confirm -- and described it as "a war zone".

"There were a lot of injured people on the ground who had head injuries," he said.

According to an NRK radio journalist present at the time of the shooting, the shooter arrived with a bag from which he pulled out a weapon and started firing.

Initial online reaction to the cancelling of the pride event is split, however, with one Facebook user asking, "How can this be stopped, if we can't go out in fearless of our lives?

Another user was more supportive of the cancellation, suggesting it was "better to cancel everything today than to risk a mass shooting."

 

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