Utøya massacre
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The 2011 Norway attacks, referred to in Norway as 22 July ( no, 22. juli) or as 22/7, were two domestic terrorist attacks by neo-Nazi
Anders Behring Breivik Fjotolf Hansen (born 13 February 1979), better known by his birth name Anders Behring Breivik () and by his pseudonym Andrew Berwick, is a Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist, known for committing the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July 2011. On ...
against the government, the civilian population, and a Workers' Youth League (AUF) summer camp, in which 77 people were killed. The first attack was a
car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...
explosion in Oslo within
Regjeringskvartalet Regjeringskvartalet (the Government Quarter) is a collection of buildings located in the centre of Norway's capital city Oslo, housing several offices for the Norwegian Government. The complex is situated approximately 300m northeast of the Par ...
, the executive government quarter of Norway, at 15:25:22 (
CEST CEST or cest may refer to: * Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone * Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory * Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...
). The bomb was placed inside a van next to the tower block housing the office of the then Prime Minister
Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...
. The explosion killed eight people and injured at least 209 people, twelve severely. The second attack occurred less than two hours later at a summer camp on the island of
Utøya Utøya () is an island in the Tyrifjorden lake in Hole municipality, in the county of Viken, Norway. The island is , situated off the shore, by the E16 road, about driving distance south of Hønefoss, and northwest of Oslo city centre. Over ...
in
Tyrifjorden Tyrifjorden (Lake Tyri) is a lake in Norway. It lies northwest of Oslo and is the nation's fifth largest lake with an area of 139 km2. It has a volume of 13 km3, is 295 meters deep at its deepest, and lies 63 meters above sea level. T ...
, Viken (former Buskerud). The camp was organised by the AUF, the youth wing of the ruling Norwegian Labour Party (AP). Breivik, dressed in a homemade police uniform and showing false identification, took a ferry to the island and opened fire at the participants, killing 67 and injuring 32. Among the dead were friends of Stoltenberg, and the stepbrother of Norway's crown princess Mette-Marit. The Utøya attack is the deadliest mass shooting by a lone individual in modern history. The attack was the deadliest in Norway since World War II. A survey found that one in four Norwegians knew someone affected. The European Union, NATO and several countries expressed their support for Norway and condemned the attacks. The 2012
Gjørv Report The Gjørv Report (''Gjørv-rapporten'' or ''NOU 2012: 14, Rapport fra 22. juli-kommisjonen'') is a report that was ordered by Norway's parliament, as a consequence of the 2011 Oslo bombing and the following Utøya massacre. The report was delive ...
concluded that Norway's police could have prevented the bombing and caught Breivik faster at Utøya, and that measures to prevent further attacks and "mitigate adverse effects" should have been implemented. The
Norwegian Police The Norwegian Police Service ( no, Politi- og lensmannsetaten) is the Norwegian national civilian police agency. The service dates to the 13th century when the first sheriffs were appointed, and the current structure established in 2003. It co ...
arrested Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian right-wing extremist, on Utøya island and charged him with both attacks. His trial took place between 16 April and 22 June 2012 in Oslo District Court, where Breivik admitted carrying out the attacks, but denied criminal guilt and claimed the defence of
necessity Necessary or necessity may refer to: * Need ** An action somebody may feel they must do ** An important task or essential thing to do at a particular time or by a particular moment * Necessary and sufficient condition, in logic, something that is ...
(). On 24 August, Breivik was convicted as charged and sentenced to 21 years of preventive detention in prison, the maximum sentence allowed in Norway.


Preparation for the attacks

Breivik claims to have begun the planning of the terrorist acts in 2002, at the age of 23. He had participated for years in debates on Internet forums and spoken against Islam and immigration. He was preparing for the attacks from at least as early as 2009, though he concealed his violent intentions.


Failed attempt to buy weapons in Prague

Breivik spent six days in Prague in late August and early September 2010. Following his Internet inquiry, Breivik noted that "Prague is known for maybe being the most important transit site point for illicit drugs and weapons in Europe". Despite the fact that Prague has one of the lowest crime rates among European capitals, Breivik expressed reservations about his personal safety, writing that (before his trip there) he believed Prague to be a dangerous place with "many brutal and cynical criminals". He hollowed out the rear seats of his Hyundai Atos in order to have enough space for the firearms he hoped to buy. After two days, he got a prospectus for a mineral extraction business printed, which was supposed to give him an alibi in case someone suspected him of preparing a terrorist attack. He wanted to buy an AK-47-type assault rifle, a Glock pistol, hand-grenades and a
rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...
, stating that getting the latter two would be a "bonus". Breivik had several fake police badges printed to wear with a police uniform, which he had acquired illegally on the Internet, and which he later wore during the attack. Contrary to his expectations, he was unable to get any firearms in the Czech Republic, commenting that it was the "first major setback in isoperation". In the end, he concluded that Prague was "far from an ideal city to buy guns", nothing like "what the BBC reported", and that he had felt "safer in Prague than in Oslo".


Arming in Norway and through the Internet

Originally, Breivik intended to try to obtain weapons in Germany or Serbia if his mission in Prague failed. The Czech disappointment led him to procure his weapons through legal channels. He decided to obtain a semi-automatic rifle and a Glock pistol legally in Norway, noting that he had a "clean criminal record, hunting license, and two guns (a Benelli Nova 12 gauge pump-action shotgun and a
.308 The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar but not identical to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...
bolt-action rifle) already for seven years", and that obtaining the guns legally should therefore not be a problem. Upon returning to Norway, Breivik obtained a legal permit for a .223-caliber
Ruger Mini-14 The Mini-14 is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Introduced in 1973, it is based on the M14 rifle and is essentially a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO. It is made in a number of variants, inc ...
semi-automatic carbine, ostensibly for the purpose of hunting deer. He bought it in late 2010 for €1,400. He wanted to purchase a 7.62×39mm
Ruger Mini-30 The Mini-14 is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Introduced in 1973, it is based on the M14 rifle and is essentially a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO. It is made in a number of variants, inc ...
semi-automatic carbine, but decided for unknown reasons to buy the Mini-14. Getting a permit for the pistol proved more difficult, as he had to demonstrate regular attendance at a sport shooting club. He also bought ten 30-round magazines for the rifle from a United States supplier, and six magazines for the pistol (including four 30-round magazines) in Norway. From November 2010 to January 2011 he went through 15 training sessions at the Oslo Pistol Club, and by mid-January his application to purchase a Glock
pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...
was approved. Breivik claimed in his manifesto that he bought 300 g of
sodium nitrate Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Chile saltpeter (large deposits of which were historically mined in Chile) to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium nitrate. T ...
from a Polish shop for €10. The Polish ABW interviewed the company owner on 24 July 2011. Breivik's Polish purchases initially led to his being placed on the watch list of the Norwegian intelligence, which did not act because they did not believe his actions were relevant to their terror concerns. He had also planned a last religious service (in
Frogner Church Frogner Church ( no, Frogner kirke) is a parish church in the Frogner borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. The congregation is part of the Oslo arch-deanery within the Diocese of Oslo in the Church of Norway. History Frogner Church was designed by ...
, Oslo) before the attack.


Breivik Geofarm

On 18 May 2009, Breivik created a sole proprietorship called ''Breivik Geofarm'', a company established under the fictitious purpose of cultivating vegetables, melons, roots and tubers. The real purpose was to gain access to chemicals and materials, especially fertiliser that could be used for the production of
explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
s without arousing suspicion. The place of business was given as Åmot in Hedmark. On 4 May 2011, Breivik purchased of fertiliser through Geofarm at
Felleskjøpet Felleskjøpet or FK is a Norwegian agricultural cooperative that serves as a retailer of agricultural operating equipment including animal food and seeds. It is also a wholesaler of grains. The corporation is organised into three separate indepe ...
, of ammonium nitrate and of
calcium ammonium nitrate Calcium ammonium nitrate or CAN, also known as nitro-limestone or nitrochalk, is a widely used inorganic fertilizer, accounting for 4% of all nitrogen fertilizer used worldwide in 2007. Production The term "calcium ammonium nitrate" is applied ...
. According to neighbours, all the fertiliser was stored in his barn. After conducting a reconstruction of the bomb with equivalent amount of fertiliser on the farm in Åmot, police and bomb experts concluded that the bomb had been , about the same size as the one used in the
2002 Bali bombings The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people of more than 20 other nationalit ...
. Afterwards there was significant debate in Norway about how an amateur could acquire such substantial amounts of fertiliser and manufacture and place such a lethal weapon in the middle of
Regjeringskvartalet Regjeringskvartalet (the Government Quarter) is a collection of buildings located in the centre of Norway's capital city Oslo, housing several offices for the Norwegian Government. The complex is situated approximately 300m northeast of the Par ...
all by himself. The conclusion by
Felleskjøpet Felleskjøpet or FK is a Norwegian agricultural cooperative that serves as a retailer of agricultural operating equipment including animal food and seeds. It is also a wholesaler of grains. The corporation is organised into three separate indepe ...
was that there is no legislation to keep agricultural businesses from buying as much fertiliser as they like, and that there was nothing suspicious about Breivik's purchase. This was confirmed by the director of the Norwegian Police Security Service,
Janne Kristiansen Janne Kristiansen (born 21 November 1952) is a Norwegian jurist. She was the first head of the Criminal Cases Review Commission from 2004 to 2009. and head of the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) from 2009 to 2012, a position from which she ...
, who stated "not even the
Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the Intelligence agency, state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maint ...
could have prevented this attack". The company listed at least two Swedish employees on the social networking site Facebook, but it is uncertain whether these people existed. In April 2011, he reported moving from Oslo to Vålstua farm in the municipality of Åmot, about south of the community centre Rena, on the east side of Glomma. His agricultural company was run from the farm, and gave him access to ingredients for explosives. His car bomb exploded in central Oslo on 22 July 2011, where it killed eight people. He had between of additional material that was left on the farm and could be used for construction of a second bomb.


Weapons training

Beside visiting firing ranges and countries with relaxed gun laws to sharpen his skill, Breivik's manifesto says that he made use of the video game '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' as a training aid while using '' World of Warcraft'' as a
cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...
for his extended period of isolation. He also said that he honed his shooting skills using an in-game holographic sight similar to the one he used during the attacks.


Oslo car bombing

On 22 July 2011, at 15:25:22 (
CEST CEST or cest may refer to: * Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone * Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory * Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...
) a bomb detonated in
Regjeringskvartalet Regjeringskvartalet (the Government Quarter) is a collection of buildings located in the centre of Norway's capital city Oslo, housing several offices for the Norwegian Government. The complex is situated approximately 300m northeast of the Par ...
, central Oslo. The bomb was placed in a white Volkswagen Crafter and parked in front of the ''H block'', housing the Office of the Prime Minister,
Ministry of Justice and the Police The Royal Ministry of Justice and Public Security ( no, Det kongelige justis- og beredskapsdepartement) is a Norwegian government ministry that oversees justice, the police, and domestic intelligence. The main purpose of the ministry is to provide ...
, and several other governmental buildings, such as the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (''R4''), Ministry of Finance (''G block''), Ministry of Education and Research ('' Y block'') and the Supreme Court of Norway (behind the ''G block''). The Crafter was registered by surveillance cameras as entering Grubbegata from Grensen at 15:13:23. The van stopped at 15:13:43, before the H block. It stood still with the hazard warning lamps on for 1 minute and 54 seconds. The driver then drove the last 200 metres and parked the van in front of the main entrance of the main government building. The van was parked at 15:16:30. The front door of the van opened 16 seconds later and after another 16 seconds the driver stepped out of the van. He stood outside the van for 7 seconds before quickly walking away towards Hammersborg torg, where he had another car parked. The driver was dressed like a police officer and had a gun in his hand. A police helmet with a face shield was covering his face. Breivik was not positively identified. The explosion started fires in the ''H block ()'' and ''R4'', and the shock wave blew out the windows on all floors as well as in the ''VG'' house and other buildings on the other side of the square. The blast was caught on many security cameras. The streets in the area were filled with glass and debris. A cloud of white smoke was reported as a fire continued to burn at the Department of Oil and Energy. The blast was heard at least away. At 15:26 the police received the first message about the explosion, and at 15:28 the first police patrol reported arriving at the scene. At the same time, news agency NTB was told that the Prime Minister was safe and not hurt. A witness called police at 15:34 to report a person in a police uniform holding a pistol in his hand, entering an unmarked vehicle, a Fiat Doblò. Information—including the vehicle's licence plate number and description of the suspect—was written on a yellow note, and hand-delivered to the police operations central where it lay for twenty minutes before the witness was phoned back. The licence plate number was not transmitted on the police radio until two hours later. Following the explosion, police cleared the area and searched for any additional explosive devices. Through media outlets, police urged citizens to evacuate central Oslo. Police later announced that the bomb was composed of a mixture of fertiliser and fuel oil ( ANFO), similar to that used in the Oklahoma City bombing.


Impact on transportation

Immediately after the explosion, the area surrounding the damaged buildings was cordoned off and evacuated. People were asked to remain calm and leave the city centre if possible, but there was no general evacuation. The Oslo Metro remained operational, and most of the Oslo tram network was also running, although sporadically, except for the line through Grensen (the street between Prof. Aschehoug's plass and Stortorvet). Buses also continued to run, although at least one
articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usua ...
on the No.37 line, which stops outside the Ministry of Finance, was commandeered to evacuate the walking wounded. An e-mail communication with the BBC from a traveller indicated that police were conducting searches in suspicious cars on the road to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, which remained open. The
Gardermoen Line The Gardermoen Line ( no, Gardermobanen) is a high-speed railway line between Oslo and Eidsvoll, Norway, running past Lillestrøm and Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. The line is long and replaced the older Hoved Line as the main line north-east of Os ...
between Lillestrøm and Oslo Airport was shut down after a suspicious package was found close to the tracks. The same happened at the offices of TV 2 which were evacuated after a suspicious package was found outside the building.


Utøya mass shooting


Attack

Approximately one and a half hours after the Oslo explosion, Breivik, dressed in a police uniform and presenting himself as "Martin Nilsen" from the Oslo Police Department, boarded the ferry at
Utøykaia Utøykaia or Utøya-kaia, also called «Thorbjørnkaia», is a ferry landing in Tyrifjorden. The ferry landing on the main land is located approximately from the ferry landing at Utøya. The pier is located about 450 meters south of the pier at ...
in
Tyrifjorden Tyrifjorden (Lake Tyri) is a lake in Norway. It lies northwest of Oslo and is the nation's fifth largest lake with an area of 139 km2. It has a volume of 13 km3, is 295 meters deep at its deepest, and lies 63 meters above sea level. T ...
, a lake some northwest of Oslo, to the island of
Utøya Utøya () is an island in the Tyrifjorden lake in Hole municipality, in the county of Viken, Norway. The island is , situated off the shore, by the E16 road, about driving distance south of Hønefoss, and northwest of Oslo city centre. Over ...
, the location of the Norwegian Labour Party's AUF youth camp. The camp is held there every summer and was attended by approximately 600 teenagers. When Breivik arrived on the island, he presented himself as a police officer who had come over for a routine check following the bombing in Oslo. He was met by Monica Bøsei, the camp leader and island hostess. Bøsei probably became suspicious and contacted Trond Berntsen, the security officer on the island, before Breivik killed them both. He then signalled and asked people to gather around him before pulling weapons and ammunition from a bag and firing indiscriminately, killing and wounding numerous people. He first shot people on the island and later started shooting at people who were trying to escape by swimming across the lake. Survivors on the island described a scene of terror. Survivor Dana Barzingi, then 21, described how several victims wounded by Breivik pretended to be dead, but he came back and shot them again.Survivors In Norway Describe Scenes Of Terror
by '' NPR'', 23 July 2011
He spared an 11-year-old boy who had lost his father (Trond Berntsen) during the shooting and stood up against him and said he was too young to die, as well as a 22-year-old man who begged for his life. Some witnesses hid in undergrowth and lavatories, communicating by text message to avoid revealing their positions. The mass shooting lasted for around an hour and a half, ending when a police special task force arrived and Breivik surrendered, despite having ammunition left, at 18:35. The shooter used hollow-point or frangible bullets which increase tissue damage. Breivik repeatedly shouted "You are going to die today,
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
s!" Bøsei's husband and one of her daughters, who were also present, survived. The youngest victim, New Zealand-born Sharidyn Svebakk-Bøhn of Drammen, was 14 years old. 16-year-old Andrine Bakkene Espeland of Sarpsborg was the last victim, nearly one hour after the shooting began. Residents in a flotilla of motorboats and fishing dinghies sailed out to rescue the survivors, who were pulled out shivering and bleeding from the water and picked up from hiding places in the bushes and behind rocks around the island's shoreline. Some survived by pretending to be dead. Several campers, especially those who knew the island well, swam to the island's rocky west side and hid in the caves which are only accessible from the water. Others were able to hide away on the secluded ''Kjærlighetsstien'' ("love path"). Forty-seven of the campers sought refuge in ''Skolestua'' ("the School House") together with personnel from the Norwegian People's Aid. Although Breivik fired two bullets through the door, he did not get through the locked door, and the people inside this building survived. The teenagers said that they had decided that it was too difficult to stop the gunman. They discovered a cave-like opening in a rock where they hid 23 children from Breivik. Dzhamayev, who kept guard outside, also dragged three youngsters from the lake who were close to drowning. Former prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, whom Breivik said he hated and, in a pun on the (more or less ironic) epithet ''Landsmoderen'' ("mother of the nation"), referred to in his writings as ''landsmorderen'' ("murderer of the nation"), had been on the island earlier in the day to give a speech to the camp. After the attack, Breivik stated that he originally wanted to target her specifically; but because of delays related to the renovation of Oslo Central railway station, he arrived after she had already left.


Rescue and emergency response

The first shot was fired at 17:22. The emergency medical services were informed about the shooting two minutes later. One minute after that, the police in Oslo were informed. They immediately tried to reach Utøya as quickly as possible, but did not have a helicopter that could take them straight to the island. By 17:30,
Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...
, the
police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. A police tactical unit's tas ...
in Oslo, were on the way to Utøya by automobile. One of the first to arrive on the scene was
Marcel Gleffe Marcel Gleffe (born 1979 in Teterow, Germany) is a German living in Norway who saved the lives of several people during the massacre on the island of Utøya. He became known in Germany as the "Saviour of Utøya" (''Retter von Utøya''). He was awa ...
, a German resident of Ski staying at
Utvika Camping Utvika Camping is a camping spot close to the Tyrifjorden. Perhaps mostly known as the place where most of the survivors of the 2011 Norway attacks at Utøya were taken when rescued by boat owners in the area. References

Tourist attractio ...
on the mainland. Recognizing gunshots, he piloted his boat to the island and began throwing life-jackets to young people in the water, rescuing as many as he could in four or five trips, after which the police asked him to stop. '' The Daily Telegraph'' credited him with saving up to 30 lives. Another forty were saved by Hege Dalen and Toril Hansen, a married couple on vacation in the area. Dalen was helping from land while Hansen and a neighbour camper made several trips to rescue people in the water. Several dozen more were rescued by Kasper Ilaug, who made three trips to the island. Ilaug, a local resident, received a telephone call that "something terrible" was happening on Utøya and requesting help. He initially thought the call was a prank, but acted anyway. Altogether, some 150 who swam away from the island were pulled out of the lake by campers on the opposite shore. Delta reached the meeting point at 18:09, but had to wait a few minutes for a boat to take them across. They reached Utøya at 18:25. When confronted by the heavily armed police on the island, the gunman initially hesitated for a few seconds. When an officer yelled "surrender or be shot" he laid down his weapons. Breivik called the
112 112 may refer to: *112 (number), the natural number following 111 and preceding 113 *112 (band), an American R&B quartet from Atlanta, Georgia **112 (album), ''112'' (album), album from the band of the same name *112 (emergency telephone number), t ...
emergency phone number at least twice to surrender, at 18:01 and 18:26, and continued killing people in between. The police say Breivik hung up both times; they tried to call him back but did not succeed. When the police arrived at the scene, they were met by survivors begging the officers to throw away their weapons, as they were afraid that the men in uniforms would again open fire on them. During the attack, 69 people were killed, and of the 517 survivors, 66 were wounded.


Shortage of transport capacity

The Norwegian police did not have helicopters suitable for transporting groups of police for an airdrop. The one they had was useful only for surveillance and the helicopter crew were on leave.The TV crews saw what was happening before the police
novinky.cz 26 July 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
When the local police arrived at
Utøykaia Utøykaia or Utøya-kaia, also called «Thorbjørnkaia», is a ferry landing in Tyrifjorden. The ferry landing on the main land is located approximately from the ferry landing at Utøya. The pier is located about 450 meters south of the pier at ...
, less than 30 minutes after the first shot was fired, they could not find a suitable boat to reach the island. They were then ordered to observe and report.I ordered the boat to Storøya
ABC Nyheter. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
AUF's own ferry, the 50 passenger MS ''Thorbjørn'', was used by Breivik to go to Utøya. Shortly after the first shot was fired, nine people were leaving the island on the ferry, among them the AUF leader
Eskil Pedersen Eskil Pedersen (born 6 March 1984 in Skien) is a Norwegian politician and former leader from 2010 to 2014 of the Workers' Youth League (AUF), the youth organisation associated with Norway's leading Labour Party. Pedersen survived the massacre ...
. They feared there might be more terrorists in the area and navigated the ferry to the north. Hence the ferry was not available to the police when they arrived at Utøykaia, the normal ferry landing on the mainland. The police therefore had to use their own rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB). The day of the event, this boat was located in Hønefoss, and had to be transported to the lake and launched before it could be used. When Delta boarded the RHIB it took on some water and after a few hundred metres, the engine stopped, probably due to water in the fuel. Two minutes later they took over a civilian boat that was sent to assist them. The episode was captured on video. A minute or two after the video ends, a faster civilian boat arrived to help. Four Delta officers boarded the boat. Not wanting to waste any more time, the civilian couple took the police to Utøya. Some have criticised the police for not using a helicopter, for not immediately getting into small boats, and for endangering the couple who drove the civilian boat.


Arrest of innocent survivor

On arriving in Utøya, the police arrested, in addition to Breivik, Anzor Djoukaev, an innocent 17-year-old survivor who represented the
Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...
branch of AUF. The youth was reportedly stripped naked and locked up in a jail cell, located only meters away from the cell housing the self-confessed killer.News report from AFP
Survivor held for 17 hours after attack
, 13 August 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
The victim, who as a child had witnessed mass murders in
Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...
, was suspected of being an accomplice because his haircut was different from that shown on his
identity document An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any documentation, document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID c ...
, and because he did not react to the carnage with the same tears and hysteria as most of the other survivors.Marianne Vikås et al.
Utøya-offer kastet på glattcelle
(Norwegian), ''Verdens Gang'', 12 August 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
He was kept in custody for seventeen hours. Lawyer
Harald Stabell Harald Stabell (16 January 1947 – 15 December 2018) was a Norwegian barrister. He worked as a defender in Eidsivating Court of Appeal from 1990 to 1995 and in Borgarting Court of Appeal and Oslo City Court from 1995. Since 2005 he was a barris ...
criticised the police for failing to contact the youth's family, who feared he was killed, and for interrogating the victim without a lawyer present.


Casualties

The attacks were the deadliest in Norway since World War II, and a survey found that one in four Norwegians knew someone affected by the attacks. It is also the fifth deadliest terrestrial terrorist attack in Western Europe behind the Bologna bombing in 1980, the Nice attack in 2016, the Paris attacks in November 2015, and the
Madrid train bombings The 2004 Madrid train bombings (also known in Spain as 11M) were a series of coordinated, nearly simultaneous bombings against the Cercanías commuter train system of Madrid, Spain, on the morning of 11 March 2004—three days before Spain's g ...
in 2004.


Oslo

Eight people were killed in the explosion; the blast, shock wave and debris immediately killed six people, while two others died quickly afterwards from their wounds. Of the 325 people estimated to have been in the government buildings, around them and in the surrounding area, at least 209 people received physical injuries from the blast and debris. While most were relatively minor and could be treated at the local casualty clinic, 12 people received more serious injuries. Ten were sent to Ullevål University Hospital (OUS, Ullevål), four with moderate to serious and six with critical injuries, and two to Aker University Hospital (OUS, Aker). A doctor at one of the Oslo University Hospitals (OUS) said the hospital staff were treating head, chest and abdominal wounds. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was at his official residence near the Royal Palace, preparing the speech he was scheduled to give at Utøya the next day. Norway's finance minister, Sigbjørn Johnsen, was on vacation in Denmark at the time. Fewer people than usual were in the area because the bombing took place during July, the usual holiday month for Norwegians, and since it was Friday afternoon, most government employees had gone home for the weekend.


Utøya

The scope of what happened at the island was initially very confusing, and the first official figures given was that at least 10 people had been killed. As the evening progressed several eyewitness reports put this number in doubt, and at approximately 03:50 (
CEST CEST or cest may refer to: * Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone * Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory * Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...
) on 23 July, NRK1 and
TV2 Channel 2 or TV 2 may refer to: Television networks, channels and stations *Channel 2 (Iran), operated by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting *Channel 2 (Israel), a commercial television station *, entertainment and music television in Latvia * ...
, the two primary Norwegian television networks, broadcast a live press conference from the "Sentrum politistasjon" in Oslo where Norway's National Police Commissioner
Øystein Mæland Øystein Mæland (born 26 March 1960) is a Norwegian psychiatrist, civil servant and politician for the Labour Party. In 2011, Mæland was appointed director of the National Police Directorate, a position he retained until August 2012 when he res ...
stated the number of fatalities at Utøya to have reached "at least 80" with the count expected to increase. On 25 July, a police spokesperson revealed that the death toll of the victims on Utøya had been revised downwards to 68 after the casualties had been counted on their return to the mainland. They added that the number of people missing was still high and that the number of casualties could be as high as 86. On 29 July police announced that one of the severely wounded victims from Utøya had died in hospital, bringing the death toll from the island massacre to 69. On 26 July, the Norwegian police began releasing the names and dates of birth of the victims on their website. By 29 July, the names of all 77 victims (8 from the bomb attack, 69 from Utøya) had been published, the last, a shooting victim, having been found on the 28th. Of the 69 people who died at the attack on the island, 57 were killed by one or more shots through the head. In total, 67 people were killed by gunshots, 1 died falling from a cliff trying to escape, and 1 drowned trying to swim away from the island. In total, Breivik fired at least 186 shots, and still had a "considerable amount of ammunition" left. In the aftermath, of the 564 people on the island at the time, 69 people died and at least 110 people had received various physical injuries. An estimated 50 people were treated at the locally set up casualty clinic, and were treated for relatively minor injuries such as cuts, bruises and hypothermia after fleeing and swimming from the island. It was cloudy and rainy on Utøya that day, air temperature was varying between , water temperature around the island was and the shortest distance to the mainland was around 600 meters. Sixty people were transported to surrounding hospitals, 55 with serious to critical injuries. The chief surgeon who treated the wounds at one of the hospitals said he had never seen similar wounds during his 23 years of practice, and explained that the bullets were extremely fragmented in their path through the body. Thirty-three people had been directly hit by one or more bullets and survived, but one person who was shot died two days later in hospital from the bullet wounds to the head and back. The 564 people on the island at the time were from all over Norway as well as some visitors from foreign countries. The people who died were from 18 of Norway's 19 counties, and also a woman from Georgia. Wounded people were from the entire country, including Svalbard, and together with the casualties from Oslo, an average of a quarter of Norway's population knew a victim affected by the attacks, according to a survey done. Several of the dead and wounded, or their parents, were personal friends of high-ranking government ministers. Trond Berntsen, an off-duty, unarmed police officer and step-brother of Norway's crown princess Mette-Marit, was the first to be shot dead.


Perpetrator

Public broadcaster NRK and several other Norwegian media outlets identified the suspected attacker as Anders Behring Breivik. He was arrested on Utøya for the shootings and also linked to the Oslo bombing. He was charged with terrorism for both attacks. According to his attorney, Breivik acknowledged that he was responsible for both the bomb and the shooting during interrogation but denied culpability, as he asserted that his actions were "atrocious but necessary". At his initial arraignment on 25 July, Breivik was remanded into custody for eight weeks, the first half to be in solitary confinement. Breivik wanted to have an open hearing, and attend it wearing a uniform of his own design, but both requests were denied by the presiding judge.


Mental health

Following his arrest, Breivik underwent examination by court-appointed
forensic psychiatrist Forensic psychiatry is a subspeciality of psychiatry and is related to criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry. According to the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, it is defined as "a subspecialty of psychiatr ...
s, who diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia and concluded he had been psychotic at the time of the attacks and was criminally insane. Although criticised in newspaper debates, the submitted report was approved with no remarks by the
Norwegian Board of Forensic Medicine The Norwegian Board of Forensic Medicine ( no, Den rettsmedisinske kommisjon, DRK) is a board appointed by the Ministry of Justice, mainly for assessing expert witness opinions submitted in criminal cases by forensic psychiatrists, pathologists, tox ...
after an extended panel of experts had reviewed it. According to his defence attorney, Breivik initially expressed surprise and felt insulted by the conclusions in the report. He later stated that "this provides new opportunities". Following the criticism of the psychiatric report, the court in January 2012 approved the conduct of a second psychiatric examination. The report from this examination declared Breivik to be sane in April 2012. Ultimately, the verdict and ruling of the district court's five-judge panel agreed that Breivik was sane.


Political and religious views

Breivik is linked to a 1,518-page compendium entitled ''2083: A European Declaration of Independence'' bearing the name "Andrew Berwick". The file was e-mailed to 1,003 addresses about 90 minutes before the bomb blast in Oslo. Analysts described him as having Islamophobic views and a hatred of Islam, and as someone who considered himself as a knight dedicated to stemming Muslim immigration into Europe. The introductory chapter of the manifesto defining "
cultural Marxism The term "Cultural Marxism" refers to a far-right antisemitic conspiracy theory which claims that Western Marxism is the basis of continuing academic and intellectual efforts to subvert Western culture. The conspiracy theory misrepresents the ...
" is a copy of ''Political Correctness: A Short History of an Ideology'' by the Free Congress Foundation. Major parts of the compendium are attributed to the pseudonymous Norwegian blogger Fjordman. The text also copies sections of the Unabomber manifesto, without giving credit, while substituting the words "cultural Marxists" for "leftists" and "Muslims" for "black people". '' The New York Times'' described American influences in the writings, noting that the compendium mentions the anti-Muslim American Robert Spencer 64 times and cites Spencer's works at great length. The work of
Bat Ye'or ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt , death_date= , death_place= , occupation = Writer , nationality = British , signature= , alma_mater = University College LondonUniversity of Geneva , genre= , notableworks = ''The Decline ...
is cited dozens of times. Far-right and anti-Islam blogger Pamela Geller, Neo-pagan writer Koenraad Elst and Daniel Pipes are also mentioned as sources of inspiration. The manifesto further contains quotes from Middle East expert Bernard Lewis,
Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
, Mahatma Gandhi, Thomas Jefferson and
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
, as well as from Jeremy Clarkson's ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' column and
Melanie Phillips Melanie Phillips (born 4 June 1951) is a British journalist, author, and public commentator. She began her career writing for ''The Guardian'' and ''New Statesman''. During the 1990s, she came to identify with ideas more associated with the righ ...
' ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' column. The publication speaks in admiration of Ayaan Hirsi Ali,
Bruce Bawer Theodore Bruce Bawer (born October 31, 1956) is an American writer who has been a resident of Norway since 1999. He is a literary, film, and cultural critic and a novelist and poet, who has also written about gay rights, Christianity, and Islam. ...
,
Srđa Trifković Srđa Trifković ( sr-cyr, Срђа Трифковић, ; born 19 July 1954) is a Serbian-American publicist, politician and historian. He is currently a foreign affairs editor for the paleoconservative magazine ''Chronicles'', and a politics pr ...
, and Henryk M. Broder. The compendium advocates a restoration of
patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...
, which it claims would save European culture. The compendium contains his
militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
ideology and xenophobic worldview, which espouses an array of political concepts; including support for varying degrees of
cultural conservatism Cultural conservatism is described as the protection of the cultural heritage of a nation state, or of a culture not defined by state boundaries. It is usually associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and opposition to immigration. Cultu ...
,
right-wing populism Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establi ...
, ultranationalism, Islamophobia, far-right Zionism, and Serbian paramilitarism. It regards
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and "
cultural Marxism The term "Cultural Marxism" refers to a far-right antisemitic conspiracy theory which claims that Western Marxism is the basis of continuing academic and intellectual efforts to subvert Western culture. The conspiracy theory misrepresents the ...
" as the enemy and argues for the annihilation of "
Eurabia Eurabia is a political neologism, a portmanteau of Europe and Arabia, used to describe a far-right, anti-Muslim conspiracy theory, involving globalist entities allegedly led by French and Arab powers, to Islamise and Arabise Europe, thereby weak ...
" and multiculturalism, to preserve a Christian Europe. He further urged Europeans to restore the historic crusades against Islam as in the Middle Ages. A video Breivik released on YouTube 6 hours before the attack has been described as promoting violence towards leftists and Muslims who reside in Western Europe. Among other things, in the manifesto he identified the
Beneš Decrees The Beneš decrees, sk, Dekréty prezidenta republiky) and the Constitutional Decrees of the President of the Republic ( cz, Ústavní dekrety presidenta republiky, sk, Ústavné dekréty prezidenta republiky) were a series of laws drafted by t ...
, which facilitated the
expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia The expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II was part of a series of evacuations and deportations of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe during and after World War II. During the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, th ...
after the Second World War, as an example for committing that act on
European Muslims Islam is the second-largest religion in Europe after Christianity. Although the majority of Muslim communities in Western Europe formed recently, there are centuries-old Muslim societies in the Balkans, Caucasus, Crimea, and Volga region. The t ...
. In his manifesto he also urges the Hindus to drive Muslims out of India. He demands the gradual deportation of all Muslims from Europe from 2011 to 2083 through repatriation.Norway Gunman Anders Behring Breivik Released Manifesto on the Web – Video and 1,500 page document
The Last Refuge, 23 July 2011.
He blames feminism for allowing the erosion of the fabric of European society. Breivik's writings mention the
English Defence League The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom. A social movement and pressure group that employs street demonstrations as its main tactic, the EDL presents itself as a single-issue movement ...
, claiming that he had contact with senior members of the EDL, and that a Norwegian version of the group was 'in the process of gaining strength'. He wrote that the EDL were 'naïve fools' because in his words the EDL 'harshly condemns any and all revolutionary conservative movements that employ terror as a tool'. EDL leader Tommy Robinson denounced Breivik and the attack on 26 July 2011 and denied any links with the Norwegian. After being apprehended, Breivik was characterised by police officials as being a right-wing extremist. Breivik is described by the newspaper '' Verdens Gang'' as considering himself a conservative nationalist. According to '' The Australian'', Breivik was highly critical of Muslim immigration into Christian societies, is pro-Israel and an admirer of the Tea Party movement in the United States. Deputy police chief
Roger Andresen Roger Andresen (born 1951) is a Norway, Norwegian police officer who has been the deputy Chief of police, police chief and leader of the public order department of Oslo Police District since 1995. In 2011 Andresen was investigated by the special u ...
initially told reporters that "We have no more information than... what has been found on isown websites, which is that it goes towards the right and that it is, so to speak, Christian fundamentalist." Subsequently, others have disputed Andresen's characterisation of Breivik as a Christian ''fundamentalist.'' Furthermore, Breivik stated that "myself and many more like me do not necessarily have a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and se ...
and God." According to the ''
International Business Times The ''International Business Times'' is an American online news publication that publishes five national editions in four languages. The publication, sometimes called ''IBTimes'' or ''IBT'', offers news, opinion and editorial commentary on busi ...
'', in his manifesto, he "did not see himself as religious", but he did identify as a cultural Christian and wrote about the differences between cultural and religious Christians, but stressed that both were Christians, and shared the same identity and goals. After his imprisonment, Breivik stated he had never personally identified as a Christian, and called his religion
Odinism Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th cent ...
, stating that he would "pray and sacrifice" to Odin. He also identified himself as a
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
and a national socialist, stating that he previously exploited
counterjihad Counter-jihad, also spelled counterjihad and known as the counter-jihad movement, is a self-titled political current loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, street movements and campaign organisations all linked by apocalyptic beli ...
ist rhetoric in order to protect " ethno-nationalists". He has written many posts on the far-right website ''
document.no Document.no is a Norwegian far-right anti-immigration website. Academics have identified Document.no as an Islamophobic website permeated by the Eurabia conspiracy theory. The website received global media attention in connection with the 2011 N ...
''. He attended meetings of "Documents venner" (Friends of Document), affiliated with the Document.no website. He is a former member of the Progress Party (FrP) and its youth wing
FpU FPU may stand for: Universities * Florida Polytechnic University, in Lakeland, Florida, United States * Franklin Pierce University, in New Hampshire, United States * Fresno Pacific University, in California, United States * Fukui Prefectural Univ ...
. According to the then FpU leader Ove Vanebo, Breivik was active early in the 2000s, but he left the party as his viewpoints became more extreme. In his online YouTube video, he expressed admiration of past European leaders who fought against Islam and Muslims, naming Charles Martel, Richard the Lionheart,
El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ''al-sīd'', which would evolve into El ...
, Vlad the Impaler, Jacques de Molay, Tsar Nicholas, and
John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...
. A social media website created bearing Breivik's name and picture but of unknown authorship refers to him as an admirer of
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
and Max Manus, and also of controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders, whose political party, the
Party for Freedom The Party for Freedom ( nl, Partij voor de Vrijheid, PVV) is a nationalist, right-wing populist political party in the Netherlands. Founded in 2006 as the successor to Geert Wilders' one-man faction in the House of Representatives, it won nine ...
, is described by the site as "the only true party of conservatives". The music that is played in the video comes off the soundtrack to the video game '' Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures''.


Unsubstantiated claims of Breivik being assisted

There was suspicion at the time of the attack that there were accomplices, and the police initially prepared to meet two to five shooters on Utøya. Several youths at Utøya reported to be convinced that there was more than one shooter, with some reports of shots fired from the mainland. A second shooter at Utøya was described by several youths as having thick dark hair, about tall who did not wear a police uniform, while carrying a pistol and a rifle. During judicial examination, at least two witnesses independently of each other both described two different shooters at Utøya, while a third witness was reported to have swum from the island beside a previously unknown dark-haired man. After his arrest Breivik claimed he acted with accomplices, but later changed his statements to his acting alone, giving several demands for him to tell about accomplices. On 24 July 2011, six people were arrested in Oslo suspected of having connections with the attacks; all were released. The police later issued a statement that there was only found evidence of one shooter at Utøya, amid "widespread conspiracy theories" of there having been more than one shooter. In the initial hours after the attacks, the group Ansar al-Jihad al-Alami led by Abu Suleiman al-Naser claimed responsibility for the attacks.


Reactions


Domestic

King Harald V sent his condolences to the victims and their families, and urged unity. He and
Queen Sonja Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen on 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway since 17 January 1991 as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relations ...
personally visited the victims of the attacks, as well as the families of those killed. At a press conference the morning after the attacks, Prime Minister
Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...
and Justice Minister Knut Storberget addressed the country. Stoltenberg called the attack a "national tragedy" and the worst atrocity in Norway since World War II. Stoltenberg further vowed that the attack would not hurt Norwegian democracy, and said the proper answer to the violence was "more democracy, more openness, but not naivety". In his speech at the memorial service on 24 July 2011, he opined what would be a proper reaction: "No one has said it better than the AUF girl who was interviewed by CNN: 'If one man can show so much hate, think how much love we could show, standing together.'" The leader of the Workers' Youth League,
Eskil Pedersen Eskil Pedersen (born 6 March 1984 in Skien) is a Norwegian politician and former leader from 2010 to 2014 of the Workers' Youth League (AUF), the youth organisation associated with Norway's leading Labour Party. Pedersen survived the massacre ...
, vowed to "return to Utøya" and urged Norway to continue its tradition of openness and tolerance. Leaders of Norwegian political parties expressed grief and sent condolences in public statements. On 1 August 2011, Norway's parliament, nominally in recess for the summer, reconvened for an extraordinary session to honour the victims of the attack. In a departure from parliamentary procedure, both King Harald V and Crown Prince Haakon were present. The president of Norway's Parliament,
Dag Terje Andersen Dag Terje Andersen (born 27 May 1957 in Frogn, Akershus) is a Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. In addition to professional politics he has worked at a steel mill and as a lumberjack, something that has given him a reputation fo ...
, read out loud the names of all 77 victims. The session was open to the public, but due to limited seating, priority was given to relatives of the deceased. August 21 in Norway was declared a day of national mourning to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack. The seven political parties in the parliament agreed to postpone the electoral campaign for
local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...
, held in September, until mid-August. School debates were cancelled, though the school elections were not. Initially,
Magnus Ranstorp Per Magnus Ranstorp (born 13 March 1965 in Hästveda) is a Swedish scholar who has written about Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda and other militant Islamic movements. He is the Research Director of the Centre for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the ...
and other terror experts suspected that foreigners were behind the attacks. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, non-ethnic Norwegians, especially Muslim Norwegians, were subjected to harassment and violence. On 13 August 2012, Norway's prime minister received the
Gjørv Report The Gjørv Report (''Gjørv-rapporten'' or ''NOU 2012: 14, Rapport fra 22. juli-kommisjonen'') is a report that was ordered by Norway's parliament, as a consequence of the 2011 Oslo bombing and the following Utøya massacre. The report was delive ...
, which concludes that Breivik could have been stopped from carrying out the Utøya massacre. (The report had been ordered by parliament, in August 2011.)


International

The United Nations, the European Union, NATO, and governments around the world expressed their condemnation of the attacks, condolences, and
solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
with Norway. However, there have also been reports of Western European right-wing populist politicians giving support to the killings or excusing them as a result of
multi-culturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
. Interviewed on a popular radio show, the Italian MEP Francesco Speroni, a leading member of the
Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...
, the junior partner in Berlusconi's conservative coalition, said: "Breivik's ideas are in defence of western civilisation." Similar views were voiced by Italian MEP Mario Borghezio. Werner Koenigshofer, a member of the National Council of Austria, was expelled from the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria after equating the massacre with the death of millions of fetuses through abortion. On 25 July 2011, at noon (CEST), each of the
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
held a
minute of silence A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of r ...
to dignify the victims of the two attacks. Norway's minute of silence stretched to five minutes. In Oslo, a city of approximately 600,000 inhabitants, an estimated 200,000 people attended a "flower march". The Norwegian media reported criticism against Fox News and its commentator
Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
for their coverage of the attacks. Beck's comparison of the AUF to the Hitler Youth led
Frank Aarebrot Frank Henrik Aarebrot (19 January 1947 – 9 September 2017) was a Norwegian political scientist, political commentator, and professor of comparative politics. Among the most quoted and popular academics in the Norwegian press, he became bette ...
, a Norwegian professor with political sympathies to the
Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centr ...
, to call Beck a "fascist" and "swine".


Memorial ceremonies

A number of memorial ceremonies took place following the attacks. On 25 July 2011, around 200,000 people took part in a "rose march" at
Rådhusplassen Rådhusplassen ("The City Hall Square") is a square located between Oslo City Hall and the Oslofjord in Vika, Oslo, Norway. Previously used as a road and part of European route E18, it has since 1994 served as a recreational area. North of the squa ...
in Oslo. The NRK memorial concert, titled "Mitt lille land" ("My Little Country") and named for the song "
Mitt lille land "Mitt lille land" (in en, "My Little Country" or "My Small Country") is a song by Ole Paus, written in 1994 as a lyrical description of Norway. The song gained strong popularity following the 2011 Norway attacks, which led to it being described by ...
" which "came to symbolize the sorrow many people went through", took place in Oslo Cathedral on 30 July 2011. A national memorial ceremony took place on 21 August 2011. In September 2011, the Norwegian People's Aid and Sony Music released the memorial album ''
Mitt lille land "Mitt lille land" (in en, "My Little Country" or "My Small Country") is a song by Ole Paus, written in 1994 as a lyrical description of Norway. The song gained strong popularity following the 2011 Norway attacks, which led to it being described by ...
''.


Memorials


National memorials

A national memorial stands at Johan Nygaardsvolds plass at ''
Regjeringskvartalet Regjeringskvartalet (the Government Quarter) is a collection of buildings located in the centre of Norway's capital city Oslo, housing several offices for the Norwegian Government. The complex is situated approximately 300m northeast of the Par ...
'' in Oslo. It was unveiled on 22 July 2016, and is temporary. Construction on a memorial in Hole, Viken, is ongoing as of 2022. The memorial is expected to be completed during the first half of 2022. Work started in August 2020 on a national memorial at Utøya-kaia (on the shores of
Tyrifjorden Tyrifjorden (Lake Tyri) is a lake in Norway. It lies northwest of Oslo and is the nation's fifth largest lake with an area of 139 km2. It has a volume of 13 km3, is 295 meters deep at its deepest, and lies 63 meters above sea level. T ...
) in Hole, Viken. As of 7 December 2020 work is in progress; in January next year a court case is scheduled to continue; the lawsuit's aim is to block further construction. Previously, in September an
injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...
from
Ringerike District Court Ringerike District Court (Norwegian: Ringerike tingrett) is a district court located in Hønefoss, Norway. It covers the municipalities of Hole, Ringerike and Jevnaker and is subordinate to the Borgarting Court of Appeal The Borgarting Court ...
blocked further construction on the memorial; in November, a higher court removed the injunction; on 30 November a trial that was scheduled for two weeks, started in Ringerike District Court and has been discontinued until January; Sixteen neighbours of the construction site are suing to have the work stopped; the litigants are claiming that the memorial will be a onstantreminder about the terror f the attack and they expect that the influx of visitors also will be an added source of strain n the health of litigants In December, one neighbour testified in court, that he rescued persons ho had been wounded by the terrorist and added: "We are again and again reminded about what happened. I will not have the strength to look at the columns design element of the memorial I will only be able to see the face of the dead"; the witness testified about the continuous gunfire, and the dead and wounded youths, and the repeated shuttling of youths in his boat – from open water to the lake shore at Utøya-kaia, and the sight of the perpetrator at Lovers' Lane, and youths being shot and killed in front of his eyes, and having to leave a critically wounded boy in the lake when bullets were whizzing past his ears. The witness is still haunted by the image of the boy, and by the mangled bodies mauled by the bullets of the terrorist, and by his last trip around the island when only the dead were left and the noise had died down except for the sound and lights from unanswered mobile phones eft in the terrain by the victims of the attack Another person to testify in court was the current secretary general of AUF, himself a survivor of the attack; he testified that he does not understand the neighbours' angst in regard to the memorial. Later that month, in a newspaper article, a licensed psychologist (retired) said that 250 or 300 victims have been estimated to have been helped during the attack and immediately after,by people belonging to the local community, and incomprehensibly many young people were killed, but without the help of these action-oriented and caring people nhabitants of the local communitythen the number would have been higher; who wants this memorial at Utøya-kaia?... or the rest of us who erelywere informed through media eports When the saviours don't want the memorial so close to heir community orthemselves, then it's shows an extreme lack of empathy and valuation of the rescue work, in my opinion, when one ..trumphs through the construction ofthe memorial; there are already enough memorials
or this attack Or or OR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H * Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew) Music * ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Mis ...
at other locations; furthermore if there must be a memorial in the area, then move it up to the main road, so that the local community t Utøya-kaiadoes not get destroyed by an influx of tourists and cars; up there n the area of the main roadit's not that easy too make it into a
place of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...
of the mass-murderer. The cost for a national memorial in Hole municipality has increased more than ten-fold, previously from 40.5 million Norwegian kroner—to more than 700 million. The artistic project has been rejected, and the project has been handed over to architects, as of October 2020.


Other memorials and symbols

*At
Utøya Utøya () is an island in the Tyrifjorden lake in Hole municipality, in the county of Viken, Norway. The island is , situated off the shore, by the E16 road, about driving distance south of Hønefoss, and northwest of Oslo city centre. Over ...
, the place of memorial is called ("the clearing") "Lysninga"; a part of it is ("the ring") "Ringen" – a "ring of steel hathangs between trees and here the names and age of the majority of those 69 killed are engraved"; "it lies at the highest point of the island"; It was unveiled during summer 2015. *'' Hegnhuset'' was inaugurated in 2016. * the iron roses"'' Jernrosene'' is located at Domkirke-parken in Oslo. The memorial has around 900 etalroses; they were donated by persons in various countries; one rose was created by a survivor, and some by others who were bereaved. *A newspaper display case that was collaterally damaged has been left unrepaired with its glass fractured but not dislocated by the shockwave of the bomb. In 2020 the display case was moved back to where it was located in 2011—outside
he building at He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
Akersgata 55, the headquarters of '' Verdens Gang''. he installationis referred to by the governmental organisation
KORO Koro may refer to: Geography *Koro Island, a Fijian island *Koro Sea, in the Pacific Ocean *Koro, Ivory Coast *Koro, Mali *Koro, Wisconsin, United States, an unincorporated community Languages *Koro language (India), an endangered language spoken ...
, as «Relocating the past: ruins for the future». Artist Ahmad Ghossein took the initiative to create a memorial from the shattered display. The newspaper edition from the day of the bombing, is still on display. *One monolith stands in each municipality. There are memorials created by the artist
Nico Widerberg Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pl ...
in the 53 affected municipalities in Norway who welcomed the same sculpture, funded by a private donation. *A ''minnestein'' ("
memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...
stone") to commemorate the attacks at Utøya is located at a roadside rest area with a view of Utøya that is located on E16 at Nes in Hole (municipality).


=Proposed memorials

= A monument at Stensparken in Oslo has been proposed, including metal roses. It has not been authorised, as its planned dimensions of by , with a height of , were judged to be too overwhelming.


The cancelled national memorial at Sørbråten

, Hole Municipality has stopped case work regarding the request for permission to build a national monument at Sørbråten; media said that the case work could be arrested for around two and a half years or longer. The government is scheduled to be a defendant in court during a three-week trial, starting 25 April 2017; the underlying lawsuit aims to deny construction at the planned location. Previously, in March 2016, the location for a planned national place of memorial was moved from Utøya to Sørbråten – located on the mainland from Utvika and from Utøya; in September 2014 the Hole municipal council had refused a memorial at Sørbråten. The names of several of the victims are reportedly being denied (, by next of kin) as inscriptions on the planned monument. A committee, '' Kunstutvalget for minnestaden for 22. juli'', chos
a design
by
Jonas Dahlberg Jonas Dahlberg (born 1970, Uddevalla) is a Swedish artist who lives in Stockholm, Sweden. He is mostly known for his video installation work.Lockwood Smith, "Promising Fiction", Zingmagazine, 2001, http://www.zingmagazine.com/zing16/reviews/re ...
for the monument, and
Karin Moe Karin Moe (born 3 December 1945) is a Norwegian writer and literary critic. She made her literary debut in 1980 with the text collection ''Kjønnskrift''. Other collections are ''39 Fyk'' from 1983, and ''Sjanger'' from 1986. She published the ...
has called the planned monument at Sørbråten — " Breivik's Memorial Place". Later, in a Klassekampen article Moe said that "Many of the ocalinhabitants have described .the design as a violation, even a rape of nature hat is in placeat Sørbråten. Such is the intensity of how the memorial is being felt, that physical pain is felt merely by imagining having to face the memorial every day. The traumatised neighbors re-live the acts of terror through the brutal cut into the mountain slope... a reminder of who acted: Anders Behring Breivik. Here his misdeed is carved in stone. No wonder that fear lies in the reactions.... The baffling thing for the locals is this: ..., but we were supposed to be honored – not re-traumatised. Why must this incurable memorial-wound be inflicted on us, so close to ur bodies or ourlife". Furthermore, she said that "Long time was needed before the September 11 memorial place on Manhattan was in place. Now an encompassing – in regard to ethics and aesthetics – pause for thinking is needed – both for the placement and the final design of the memorial". A later article suggested that "we create the monument as envisioned, but fill the scar with rock and beautify the surface", inspired by kintsugi. A later article said that "What many of us don't understand is why these plans, apparently not well-considered, now are pushed through.... Is it ecause ofprestige or out of consideration to the artist"?
Minister of Local Government and Modernisation The Minister of Local Government and Modernisation ( no, Kommunal- og moderniseringsministeren) is a Council of State (Norway), Councillor of State and Chief of the Norway, Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (Norway), ...
has been criticised for announcing – while Breivik was a plaintiff in a 4-day trial – the urrentdecision to construct the monument. On 14 April 2016, media said that a "report has indicated that the place of memorial will create great mental strains on the persons living in its close proximity"; The report, ''Nasjonalt kunnskapssenter om vold og traumatisk stress a/s'', was completed in April 2015. A later newspaper article asked "And why should the little island ic ørbråten be punished with the jötunn cut – what wrong has the island done?" On 16 April 2016 media quoted board member Anne-Gry Ruud of neighbourhood association, ''Utstranda Velforening'': "I don't think that the work of art honors all who were killed, but symbolizes only pain and open wounds.... If this work of art gives any associations, then they are to terror, death, pain and the inadequacy of society.... This is not just a small cut on a point – it is an area of 1.2 decare hat will become surrounded by water.... I don't think that the ocalinhabitants have a responsibility to provide a location for a memorial at Sørbråten. Especially in the summer we experience a steady flow of tourists on a pilgrimage to Sørbråten. Some take selfies with Utøya in the background. Others stop the inhabitants and ask what they did that day and how we contributed.... We have two schoolbuses that drive back and forth every day on the road just above, others pass on their way to the store, leisure activities, work or municipal centre... 260 inhabitants". The national convention of the Progress Party decided to say "no" to placing the memorial at Sørbråten. On 25 April 2016 Hole Municipal Council decided to fund Norwegian kroner 25,000 to ''Utstranda Velforening'', for a proposed lawsuit against the government. In a 14 May 2016 '' Aftenposten'' article , a film director and -producer, said that the monument of the original contest was supposed to have a price limited to Norwegian kroner 20 million; now that the government has estimated the price to 70 million including relevant extra expenses, the contestants that operated within the original price limits have been deceived. In May 2016 the government wrote that the ongoing lawsuit about lacingthe monument t Sørbråten will not change the government's plans; the letter was signed by
Minister of Local Government and Modernisation The Minister of Local Government and Modernisation ( no, Kommunal- og moderniseringsministeren) is a Council of State (Norway), Councillor of State and Chief of the Norway, Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (Norway), ...
and Minister of Culture. In an 11 June 2016 '' Dagbladet'' article Hans Normann Dahl was quoted, "The monument itself is incomprehensible, and the idea so crass that it contains a negative and destructive material". An 18 June 2016 ''Dagbladet'' article quoted (writings of) one mother (Gunn Rusten) who lost her daughter: "My daughter's name will NOT be displayed on any memorial at Sørbråten, but it is displayed at Utøya". She added that "Why should all the phenomenal persons living there, and who put their lives on the line that day – to save as many as possible of those on Utøya ho were later rescued from the lake— have this as a lifelong, daily reminder of the fateful Friday when police and those in charge let a crazy man walk around for around an hour and a half – and kill at will – without intervening". Furthermore, another mother (Mai Britt Rogne) who lost her daughter said that: "We already have the grave, ndUtøya, and one monolith in every municipality. How many places of memorial do we need"? On 24 June 2016 the government was sued (in
Ringerike District Court Ringerike District Court (Norwegian: Ringerike tingrett) is a district court located in Hønefoss, Norway. It covers the municipalities of Hole, Ringerike and Jevnaker and is subordinate to the Borgarting Court of Appeal The Borgarting Court ...
) with a claim that "The government is being denied construction of the memorial ''Memory Wound'', including a parking lot, a footpath, and auxiliary developments at Sørbråten and Bergli othin Hole". the government has offered to ditch the "Memory Wound" draft for a monument; the site for a national memorial at Sørbråten, remains unchanged. Swedish psychiatrist Per-Olof Michel said "I have been thinking why the government was in such a hurry. In Sweden one will be unveiling the Tsunami Monument next year – 13 years after the fact. Regarding something that affects so many people, one should let time pass and go thru things again".
Bodil Cappelen Bodil Cappelen (born April 26, 1930) is a Norwegian painter, textile artist, and book illustrator. She has also written children's books. Early life Cappelen was born in Stavanger, the daughter of Johan Munthe Cappelen from Oslo and Edith Heiber ...
said in a '' Klassekampen'' article that "Centuries will pass... Oh, yes. Here they have cut off a point—from the mountain mama. A
landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
was not that much worth—then". Regarding "Memory Wound" possibly being plagiarism of one of 300 candidate proposals for the pre-qualification in the contest for monument design, art historian said that "My first impression was that this is closest oplagiarism"; "But when the idea is so similar, I think one should examine the case further"; he final written work for the master's degree,''masteroppgaven'', of architect students Kristin Ulrikke Rønnestad og Hildegunn Slotnæs had already been published on NTNU's website, and had been exhibited in Trondheim, and had been mailed to around 200 persons and offices. So far the case has led to: government agency informing Dahlberg and the Department of Culture of potential allegations of plagiarism; Dahlberg denied any knowledge of ''masteroppgaven''; student Rønnestad met with the director of KORO in April 2014. The lawyer (from the architects' trade union) that accompanied Rønnestad there, said that KORO showed "a quite condescending attitude towards her". Other views regarding the case includes the view of Arve Rød, art critic of '' Dagbladet'', saying about the sketches "The likeness is peculiar, and impossible to overlook. It is difficult not to conclude that these are two completely alike ideas, but I can not from that claim that Dahlberg has plagiarized the work of the two students"; he thinks that it is quite remarkable that woideas, so alike, were found in the same contest and situation, in the same place and at the same time. In November 2016 news broke that case work regarding the request for permission to build the monument at Sørbråten, had been arrested in September; Hole municipality's justification, cited in part the upcoming court case. In June 2017 the government cancelled the project.


Attempts at art creation

A 2016 Norwegian news article said that "Most of those that work in the field of art, probably were aware of the support group's the national support group after the 22 July incidents", or ' marked attempts at stopping the Danish playwright Christian Lollike when he wanted to stage a drama based on the terrorist's manuscript. Artists are in fact not as daring, as many like to think".


Legal proceedings

The police initially kept the choice of counsel secret after request from the attorney. Attorney Geir Lippestad elected to act on behalf of Breivik's defence; Breivik had specifically requested that Lippestad become his attorney. On 25 July 2011, Breivik was arraigned in Oslo District Court. The police feared that Breivik would use the hearing as an opportunity to communicate with possible accomplices. Because of this, the arraignment was held completely closed to the media and all other spectators. Instead, judge Kim Heger held a press conference shortly afterwards where he read the court's decision. The practice of completely closed court hearings is extremely rare in the Norwegian justice system. The debate over which
criminal charges A criminal charge is a formal accusation made by a governmental authority (usually a public prosecutor or the police) asserting that somebody has committed a crime. A charging document, which contains one or more criminal charges or counts, can ...
to file was fierce. Many police attorneys wanted high treason or
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
. The prosecution ended up indicting Breivik on terrorism charges. Breivik admitted to being the gunman at Utøya and the perpetrator behind the Oslo bomb, also admitting all the other actual events. Nonetheless he pleaded not guilty, stating "I do not recognise this justice system".
District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
Christian Hatlo asked that Breivik be detained for eight weeks without mail or visitation. The judge ruled in favour of the prosecution, stating "the accused is an imminent danger to society and must be confined for the safety of himself and others. It is highly probable that he is guilty of the alleged crimes and imprisonment is necessary to prevent destruction of evidence". In accordance with the prosecution's wishes, Breivik was remanded to eight weeks detention without mail or visitation, four of those in complete isolation, to be renewed no later than 19 September 2011. He was immediately transferred to Ila Landsfengsel, a
maximum security prison Maximum security prisons and supermax prisons are grades of high security level used by prison systems in various countries, which pose a higher level of security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is ...
. On 13 August 2011 Breivik was taken to Utøya by police to recreate his actions on the day of the massacre. Neither the media nor the public was alerted to the operation. The police explained that the surprise walk-through was necessary because Breivik was to be charged and tried for all 77 murders individually. The police deemed it less offensive to the survivors to do it before rather than during the trial. Despite the many police boats and helicopters, none of the civilians who had come to lay down flowers on the shore that day perceived what was happening just a few hundred metres across the lake from them for eight hours. On the evening of 14 August the police held a press conference about the reconstruction. It was reported that Breivik was not unmoved by his return to Utøya, but that he showed no remorse. Inspector Pål Fredrik Hjort Kraby described Breivik's behaviour and indifference on the island as "unreal", as he had over the course of eight hours willingly showed the police exactly how he had carried out all of the 69 murders. The trial began on 16 April 2012 and lasted until 19 June 2012. 170 media organisations were accredited to cover the proceedings. Breivik acknowledged that he had committed the offences but pleaded not guilty as he believed the killing was needed. The main issue for Breivik was that he was not to be deemed "insane" or "psychotic", because that would lose the meaning of his message. On 24 August, Breivik was found to be sane by the panel of five judges. He was sentenced to preventative detention (''forvaring''), a sentence of 21 years in prison which can be repeatedly extended by 5 years as long as he is considered a threat to society. This is the maximum sentence allowed by Norwegian law, and it is the only way to allow for life imprisonment.


Aftermath

Coop Norway, a chain of retail stores in Norway, removed several games from its shelves as a result of the attack. Some of the titles includes games like '' Homefront'', ''Call of Duty'' series, '' Sniper: Ghost Warrior'', ''
Counter-Strike Source ''Counter-Strike: Source'' is a tactical shooter, tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation, Valve and Turtle Rock Studios. Released in October 2004 for Microsoft Windows, Windows, it is a Video game remake, remake ...
'' and '' World of Warcraft''. Some games were also temporarily removed from the Norwegian WiiWare catalogue, including an on-rails shooter game. In the days following the attacks, Norway's largest represented political parties noted a significant increase in interest for membership from young people. Both the Norwegian Young Conservatives and the
Progress Party's Youth The Progress Party's Youth ( no, Fremskrittspartiets Ungdom, FpU), is the youth wing of the Norwegian political party the Progress Party (Norway), Progress Party. It is generally considered to be more Right-libertarianism, libertarian than the Pro ...
, as well as the Workers' Youth League (AUF) had signed up a significant number of new members after a few days. The mother parties also reported an unusual increase in new member applications, with the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
and the Progress Party having signed up almost 1,000 new members each by early August, while the Labour Party reported over 6,000 new members at the end of the month. Far-right groups such as Stop the Islamisation of Norway (SIAN) and the
Norwegian Defence League The European Defence League (EDL) is a largely UK-based offshoot of the English Defence League founded by Tommy Robinson which campaigns against what it considers sharia law and itself has various offshoots. The group was set up in October 2010 ...
(NDL), as well as the Democrats, had reportedly witnessed a boom in their memberships and interest by mid-August, with the Democrats party having signed up around one hundred new members, and the NDL around three hundred. In the September
local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...
almost two months after the attacks, gains were made by the Conservative Party (up 9% to 28%), and to a lesser extent the Labour Party (up 2% to 32%). On the other hand, setbacks were witnessed by the Progress Party, the party Breivik had been a member of, (down 6% to 11%) and the Socialist Left Party (down 2% to 4%). In the
Gjørv Report The Gjørv Report (''Gjørv-rapporten'' or ''NOU 2012: 14, Rapport fra 22. juli-kommisjonen'') is a report that was ordered by Norway's parliament, as a consequence of the 2011 Oslo bombing and the following Utøya massacre. The report was delive ...
, received by the prime minister in advance of a press conference on 13 August 2012, it was concluded that more actions could have been taken by authorities, to stop Breivik, to track him, or to interrupt his attacks. It also criticised the police action, in stark contrast to an internal report issued by the police earlier. A few days later, national police chief
Øystein Mæland Øystein Mæland (born 26 March 1960) is a Norwegian psychiatrist, civil servant and politician for the Labour Party. In 2011, Mæland was appointed director of the National Police Directorate, a position he retained until August 2012 when he res ...
submitted his resignation, citing a lack of clear support for his position from his superiors and saying: "If the usticeministry and other political authorities do not clarify this matter unequivocally, it will become impossible for me to continue." His resignation was accepted and announced by Justice Minister Grete Faremo. Vegard Grøslie Wennesland, a survivor of the incident, ran for parliament on a Labour Party ticket in the
2013 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 8 and 9 September 2013 to elect all 169 members of the unicameral Storting. The centre-right coalition obtained 96 seats, while the incumbent red–green coalition government obtained 72 seats and ...
A further 33 Labour Party candidates in the election were Utøya survivors and of those,
Åsmund Aukrust Åsmund or Aasmund is a Norse male given name, derived from ''as'' ('god') and ''mundr'' ('protector'). People with the given name Åsmund or Aasmund include: *Asmund, Varangian tutor of Sviatoslav I of Kiev (945–972) *Åsmund Asdal (born 1957), ...
,
Stine Renate Håheim Stine Renate Håheim (born 13 May 1984) is a Norwegian politician (representing the Labour Party). She is from Valdres, Oppland. She was a municipal councillor for Nord-Aurdal 2003–2007, and a member of Oppland county council between 2007 and ...
and Fredric Holen Bjørdal were also elected. However, the result brought a coalition government of the
Conservative party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
and the
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
Progress Party, of which Breivik had been a member from 1999 until 2004, to power. In 2013, former AUF local leader and Labour Party cabinet advisor Ivar Fjeld released the pamphlet ''Den rødgrønne terrorøya'' ("The Red-Green Terror Island"), which documented how Utøya over several years had been used to build up support for anti- Israel politics and Palestinian terrorists. In the book he documents among other things that AUF had allowed far-left Red Youth to arrange camps on Utøya, who collected money for and welcomed representatives from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) on the island. Fjeld claimed that his purpose with the book was to warn the Labour Party about the activities of its increasingly radicalised and
Islamised Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
youth organisation.


Embezzlement from terror attack victims fund

In 2016, one person was sentenced to 120 days in prison for embezzling 300,000 Norwegian kroner from Støttegruppen etter 22. juli, a Norwegian NGO; the money was supposed to have gone to victims of the terror attack. The perpetrator was a steward of the NGO.


Semi-automatic weapon ban for hunting and Mini-14 rifle ban

On 28 February 2018, Peter Frølich of the Norwegian parliament's committee on judicial affairs, said a proposal to ban semi-automatic weapons proposed the year prior now had enough political support to become law by 2021. The law will ban the
Ruger Mini-14 The Mini-14 is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Introduced in 1973, it is based on the M14 rifle and is essentially a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO. It is made in a number of variants, inc ...
rifle model that was used in Utøya massacre and other semi-auto rifles for hunting. However, using semi-automatic firearms for shooting sports is still legal for sportsmen who have permission for practice and competition shooting from Dynamic Sports Shooting Norway (DSSN) or the Norwegian Reserve Officers' Association (NROF).


Potential copycat incidents


Czech copycat

On 10 August 2012, the Rapid Reaction Unit (
URNA In Buddhist art and culture, the Urna (more correctly ūrṇā or ūrṇākośa (Pāli uṇṇa), and known as in Chinese) is a spiral or circular dot placed on the forehead of Buddhist images as an auspicious mark. It symbolizes a third eye, w ...
) of the
Czech Police The Police of the Czech Republic ( cs, Policie České republiky) is the national law enforcement agency of the Czech Republic. It was established on 15 July 1991 under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. The agency is tasked with pr ...
, backed up by a local
SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
unit and over 100 other police, arrested a 29-year-old admirer of Breivik, Vojtěch Mlýnek, in Ostrava, the Czech Republic's third largest city. The police suspected that Mlýnek was preparing a copycat attack inspired by the 2011 Norway attacks. He was stockpiling weapons (including a fully automatic assault rifle and armor-piercing bullets) and had converted an
aerial bomb An aerial bomb is a type of explosive or incendiary weapon intended to travel through the air on a predictable trajectory. Engineers usually develop such bombs to be dropped from an aircraft. The use of aerial bombs is termed aerial bombing. ...
in order to be able to remotely detonate it. Mlýnek had the remote control with him while arrested. He had also obtained uniforms of the Czech police and of the Czech prison service and a police ID. Mlýnek, who was using the pseudonym ''Anders Behring Breivik'' in electronic communication, has had a history of four prior criminal convictions, including a six-month-long suspended sentence for setting off an explosive which demolished an empty wooden cottage. Mlýnek was initially charged with endangering public and with illegal arming, which carried a penalty from three to eight years in prison. He was first held in a remand prison, but was transferred to an isolation unit of prison hospital in
Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
following a psychiatric evaluation. On 3 April 2013, a court in Ostrava found Mlýnek criminally insane. At the same time he was found dangerous to the public and ordered psychiatric detention. The reasons for detention will be reviewed by the court periodically every two years. Police determined that Mlýnek, despite being a Breivik sympathiser, was not preparing an actual terrorist attack; however, he suffered from paranoia and was stockpiling the weapons and bombs with the aim of self-defense.


Polish copycat

On 20 November 2012 the Polish authorities announced the arrest of a 45-year-old lecturer in chemical engineering at the Agricultural University of Cracow under suspicion of preparing a similar attack. According to the authorities, was an admirer of Breivik and was further inspired by the Oklahoma City bombing. Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) first found out about Kwiecień after it launched investigation into Breivik's Polish contacts when it became known that Breivik had ordered some of the chemicals for his bomb from Poland via internet. According to ABW, Kwiecień was preparing an attack against the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament. He wanted to detonate of explosives in a car bomb parked at the building during deliberation of the next year's budget, as it is the time when all the members of parliament, the Prime Minister as well as the President are all present in the building. Kwiecień tried to arm himself already in 1997, however the authorities refused his application for a firearm permit. He later started arming himself illegally, mostly with weapons bought in Belgium. He bought firearms, ammunition,
bulletproof vest A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions. T ...
s with ceramic plates and
kevlar helmet Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT, pronounced ) is a combat helmet and ballistic vest that was used by the United States Armed Forces, United States military from the early 1980s until the mid-2000s, when the helmet and vest were s ...
s. He had visited the Sejm and tested whether it is possible to use radio remote controls in the buildings for the purposes of planned detonation of the car bomb. Being a graduate of Warsaw University of Technology program on explosive manufacturing, Kwiecień was conducting illegal trials of explosives from at least 2000. In some cases, he detonated small explosives on Warsaw bridges, making small dents and holes in their construction. Apart from targeting the parliament, Kwiecień was also preparing murders of Monika Olejnik, an influential journalist, and Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, the mayor of Warsaw. Kwiecień intensified his preparations after Breivik's conviction. He conducted an experimental explosion of a bomb in the Polish countryside in the municipality of Przeginia, which he also filmed. He had recruited four other people for his cause, however at least two of them were actually ABW's secret agents. He was convicted and sentenced to nine years of imprisonment on 19 April 2017. Brunon Kwiecień died in prison on 6 August 2019 from what is believed to have been a suicide.


Christchurch mosque shootings

Brenton Harrison Tarrant, the perpetrator of two consecutive mass shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, said in his manifesto "The Great Replacement" (in reference to a far-right theory from France by Renaud Camus) that he was in particular inspired by Breivik and claimed to have been in "brief contact" with him, as well as meeting with his organisation, the
Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...
. The shootings took place at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre during
Friday Prayer In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...
on 15 March 2019, killing 51 people and injuring 40 more.


Depiction in popular culture

*The poem hese memories have no time to wait''Desse minna har ikkje tid til å vente'' (2021), by
Frode Grytten Frode Grytten is a Norwegian writer and journalist. Born 11 December 1960 in Bergen and a native of Odda, he is the author of the Brage Prize-winning novel ''Bikubesong'' ("Song of the Beehive") as well as other short stories and poems. His wor ...


Films

* o the Youth''Til ungdommen'' (2012), directed by Kari Anne Moe *'' Utøya: July 22'', directed by
Erik Poppe Erik Poppe (born 24 June 1960) is a Norwegian film director, producer and screenwriter. Poppe is regarded as one of Scandinavia's most experienced and compelling film directors recognized for his work with actors and multi-pronged narrativ ...
, was released in 2018. *''
22 July Events Pre-1600 * 838 – Battle of Anzen: The Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffers a heavy defeat by the Abbasids. * 1099 – First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of ...
'', directed by Paul Greengrass, was released in 2018. *
he legacy of 22 July He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
''Arven etter 22. juli'', directed by Tommy Gulliksen (
Simple English Wikipedia The Simple English Wikipedia is a modified English-language edition of Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, written primarily in Basic English and Learning English. It is one of seven Wikipedias written in an Anglic language or English-based ...
), was released in 2021


Music

The Austrian
black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...
band
Harakiri for the Sky Harakiri for the Sky is an Austrian post-black metal band formed in Salzburg and Vienna in 2011 by vocalist JJ (Michael V. Wahntraum) and multi-instrumentalist Matthias Sollak, formerly of black metal band Bifröst. They have released five studio ...
released a song titled, "69 Dead Birds for Utøya", on their 2014 album ''Aokigahara.'' Dutch
symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...
band Epica released a song entitled "Internal Warfare", on their 2012 album '' Requiem for the Indifferent''. Singer Simone Simons stated in an interview that it was about the Breivik attacks in Norway. Norwegian pop singer Aurora released a song entitled "Little Boy in the Grass", on her 2015 EP '' Running with the Wolves'', which is about the tragedy. A 2016 song performed by the Norwegian pop-rock band
deLillos deLillos is a Norwegian poprock band formed in Oslo in 1984. They are generally regarded as one of the "Four Greats" in modern Norwegian pop music, i.e. one of the four 1980s groups that founded a new tradition for rock music with lyrics in Nor ...
, "Vi ser dere nå" ("We see you now"), was written about the attacks; one verse says: ".. he set off a bomb, to go to an island, where he gunned down youth, as if it was fun".


Television

Season 6 of '' Seconds from Disaster'' premiered on the one-year anniversary of the 2011 Norway attacks (aired 22 July 2012), with the episode titled, "Norway Massacre: I Was There". The ''
Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...
'' episode "
The Cryonic Woman "The Cryonic Woman" is the nineteenth and final episode of the second season of ''Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 3, 2000. The plot incorporates a cryonics theme. Sarah Silverman does the voice o ...
" was briefly changed on some syndicated reruns, including the DVD rerelease, because a moment in the episode included a screen saying "Prime Minister of Norway". This was later changed to "Chainsaw Juggler". A TV miniseries, ', about the respondents to the attack premiered on NRK 5 January 2020.


See also

* Timeline of the 2011 Norway attacks *
List of right-wing terrorist attacks This is a list of right-wing terrorist attacks. Right-wing terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different right-wing and far-right ideologies, most prominently by neo-Nazism, neo-fascism, ecofascism, white nationalism, white ...
*
22 July Information Centre The 22 July Centre ( Norwegian: ''22. juli-senteret'') is a learning centre that works with the mediation of memory and knowledge about the terror attacks in Oslo and on Utøya on 22 July 2011. The Centre was opened on 22 July 2015, at the gr ...
, the government enquiry into the attacks *
Anders Behring Breivik Fjotolf Hansen (born 13 February 1979), better known by his birth name Anders Behring Breivik () and by his pseudonym Andrew Berwick, is a Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist, known for committing the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July 2011. On ...
* Oklahoma City bombing, a terrorist attack against government offices in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US, using similar explosives *
2016 Munich shooting On 22 July 2016, there was a mass shooting in the vicinity of the Olympia shopping mall in the Moosach district of Munich, Germany. An 18-year-old Iranian-German, David Sonboly, opened fire on fellow teenagers at a McDonald's restaurant before ...
, a mass shooting that occurred exactly five years after the attacks. *
List of rampage killers (religious, political, or ethnic crimes) This section of the list of rampage killers contains notable mass murders, committed by lone wolf perpetrators, that have a foremost religious, political or racial background. A rampage killer has been defined as follows: This list should co ...


References


Further reading

* Borchgrevink, Aage Storm, and Guy Puzey. ''A Norwegian Tragedy: Anders Behring Breivik and the Massacre on Utøya''. 2013. (translated from the Norwegian) * Seierstad, Åsne, and Sarah Death. ''One of us: the story of Anders Breivik and the massacre in Norway''. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2015. (translated from the Norwegian) * Turrettini, Unni, and Kathleen M. Puckett. ''The Mystery of the Lone Wolf Killer: Anders Behring Breivik and the Threat of Terror in Plain Sight''. New York: Pegasus Crime, 2015.


External links


Stor eksplosjon i Oslo sentrum
'' Aftenposten'', News report in Norwegian, with pictures.
Allvarligt bombattentat skakar Oslo
''
Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...
'', News report in Swedish, with pictures.
Norway – Breivik Attacks, July 2011
collected news and commentary at '' The New York Times''
Victims from the attacks in Oslo and at Utøya
(
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...
)
Oslo Terrorist Attacks – Terrorism with a different face, in a different place


(Official report) *
Kjetil Alstadheim Kjetil is a Norwegian masculine given name. It may refer to: * Kjetil Aleksander Lie (born 1980), Norwegian chess player, Norway's eighth International Grandmaster * Kjetil André Aamodt (born 1971), Norwegian former alpine ski racer *Kjetil Bang- ...
. https://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kommentar/i/V9yBAl/noe-gikk-galt-paa-stortinget-etter-22-juli omething went wrong in Parliament, after the 22 July (attack) 27 August 2022. Aftenposten.no


Images


Deadly Attacks In Norway
– slideshow by '' NPR'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Norway attacks, 2011 2011 murders in Norway 2011 mass shootings in Europe 2010s in Oslo 21st-century mass murder in Europe Mass murder in 2011 July 2011 crimes July 2011 events in Europe Attacks on buildings and structures in Norway Attacks on government buildings and structures Building bombings in Europe Car and truck bombings in Norway Crime in Oslo Deaths by firearm in Norway Explosions in Norway Failed assassination attempts in Europe Far-right politics in Norway Filmed improvised explosive device bombings Filmed killings Mass shootings in Norway Massacres in Norway Nationalist terrorism in Europe Neo-fascist terrorist incidents Spree shootings in Norway Terrorist incidents in Europe in 2011 Terrorist incidents in Norway in the 2010s Labour Party (Norway) Viken (county)