Norway massacre-Police Guard ‘Was Meant To Be On Island’

Police Guard ‘Was Meant To Be On Island’

 July 24, 2011

Sky News – July 24, 2011

A police guard had been due to be on the Norwegian island where a gunman massacred at least 86 people but detectives do not know where he was, they reveal.

“There was supposed to be a police officer there,” acting police chief Sveinung Sponheim told a news conference, adding that it is unclear where he was.

He also said a British police expert is helping the investigation into Friday’s twin attacks that killed at least 93 people as part of cooperation with foreign forces.

“We have received help from the Metropolitan police in London by a criminal technician expert,” Mr Sponheim said.

The suspect accused of the killings has confessed to police that he carried out the attacks but said he did not break the law.

Police said 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik is also adamant that he acted alone.

His confession came as police launched an operation in connection with Friday’s massacre and raided a property in the east of Oslo, arresting six people.

Officers from the police’s counter-terrorism force, known as Delta, swooped on the address and accessed two chemical containers but found no explosives.

The detainees were later released, with police saying they had no link to the attacks.

Breivik’s lawyer Geir Lippestad has told Norway’s NRK television channel that the suspect was motivated by a desire to bring about a revolution in Norway.

“He wanted a change in society and, from his perspective, he needed to force through a revolution,” he said.

“He wished to attack society and the structure of society. He explained that it was cruel but that he had to go through with these acts.”

The death toll from both attacks has now hit 93 as one of the people injured in the shooting on Utoya island died in hospital.

The chief surgeon at a hospital treating victims of the camp attack has said the killer used special “dum-dum” bullets, designed to disintegrate inside the body and cause maximum damage.

Addressing the media earlier, Mr Sponheim said the suspect had “admitted to the facts of both the bombing and the shooting, although he’s not admitting criminal guilt”.

“He says that he was alone but the police must verify everything that he said,” the acting police chief said.

“Some of the witness statements from the island (shootings) have made us unsure of whether there was one or more shooters.”

Police said they had no other suspects following Friday’s tragedy, which started when Breivik allegedly set off a car bomb at government headquarters in Oslo, killing at least seven people and injuring 30 more.

Then, 90 minutes later, he opened fire on hundreds of teenagers assembled for the Labour Party’s annual youth camp on the island of Utoya. That attack has left at least 86 people dead and more than 60 wounded.

Police say four or five people are still missing after the youth camp massacre and they fear the final death toll could reach 98.

As Mr Breivik was charged with terrorism and prepares to be arraigned on Monday, a 1,500-page document detailing plans for an attack, which is believed to be written by the suspect, was discovered on the internet.

It describes his mindset and preparations in the 95 days before the attack and claims he has been planning the acts since 2009.

The gunman’s document reveals his dislike for what he sees as a growing influence of Muslims in Europe.

One entry reads: “Friday July 22 – Day 82: Initiate blasting sequences at pre-determined sites… have enough material for 20 blasts… I believe this will be my last entry. It is now Friday July 22nd 12.51pm.”

He says that being arrested was part of his plan – he wants notoriety.

Breivik described himself on his Facebook page as “conservative”, “Christian”, and interested in hunting and computer games like World of Warcraft and Modern Warfare 2, reports said.

He also said he was the director of Breivik Geofarm, an organic farm that may have given him access to chemicals used in the production of explosives.

A photograph was also posted showing him posing with a machine gun and dressed in a uniform, and a badge with the words “Marxis Hunter – Multiculti Traitor Hunting Permit”.

A sole message on his Twitter account, dated July 17, was based on a quote from British philosopher John Stuart Mill, reading: “One person with a belief is equal to a force of 100,000 who have only interests.”

Breivik’s father, who is a pensioner living in France, has told Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang he is shocked at his son’s actions.

But he added that he had not been in contact with him since 1995 and found out about his alleged involvement in the Norway killings on the internet.

“I was reading the online newspapers and suddenly I saw his name and picture,” he said. “It was a shock to learn about it. I have not recovered yet.”

Breivik will be arraigned tomorrow when a court decides whether police can continue to hold him as the investigation continues.

Officers are understood to have searched a flat in Oslo where he lived as well as his farmhouse on the outskirts of the city.

Following his arrest it was revealed Breivik had bought six tonnes of fertiliser from an agricultural outlet in May, which he is understood to have used to make explosives.

His purchase was not flagged by authorities because he made it through his farming business.

Police spokesman Roger Andersen described the suspect as a “Christian fundamentalist”, adding that his political opinions leaned “to the right”.

The head of the populist right-wing Progress Party (FrP) confirmed Breivik had been a party member between 1999 and 2006 and for several years a leader in its youth movement.

He stopped paying his subscription before ending his membership, according to the party.

“Those who knew the suspect when he was a member of the party say that he seemed like a modest person that seldom engaged himself in the political discussions,” Siv Jensen said in a statement on the FrP website.

Members of the Norwegian royal family, politicians and the public packed the pews at Oslo’s cathedral for a memorial service to remember the victims on Sunday morning.

The crowd spilled into the plaza outside where flowers and candles were strewn over the streets as tributes to the fallen.

Norway’s prime minister Jens Stoltenberg fought to hold back tears as he told the mourners at the mass the scale of the attacks was yet to emerge.

He said the names and photographs of those who died would soon be released and “the scale of the evil will then emerge”.

Meanwhile, British police are on standby to help detectives investigating the attacks.

Home Secretary Theresa May said she had spoken to Norwegian justice minister Knut Storberget and offered him any assistance needed.