Utøya Shooting
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The 2011 Norway attacks, also called 22 July () or 22/7 in Norway, were two
domestic terrorist Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...
attacks by
far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
extremist
Anders Behring Breivik Anders Behring Breivik (; born 13 February 1979), officially named Fjotolf Hansen from 2017 to 2025, and Far Skaldigrimmr Rauskjoldr av Northriki since March 2025, is a Norwegian neo-Nazi terrorist and mass murderer. He carried out the 2011 No ...
against the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
, the civilian population, and a Workers' Youth League (AUF) summer camp, in which a total of 77 people were killed. The first attack was a
car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van 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 roug ...
explosion in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
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 Pa ...
, the executive government quarter of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, at 15:25:22 ( CEST). The bomb was placed inside a van next to the
tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction. ...
housing the office of the then
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (; born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. Since 2025, he has been the Minister of Finance in the Støre Cabinet. He has previously been the prime minister of Norway and secretary general of NATO. ...
. The explosion killed 8 people and injured at least 209 people, 12 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 Buskerud, Norway. The island is , situated off the shore, by the E16 road, about driving distance south of Hønefoss, and northwest of Oslo city centre. ...
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 138.56 km2. It has a volume of 13 km3, is 295 meters deep at its deepest, and lies 63 meters above sea level ...
,
Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...
. 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, arrived at the island claiming to be performing a routine check following the bombing. His presence raised the suspicions of the camp's organizer and subsequently a security guard, prompting Breivik to kill them both. He then opened fire at the participants, killing 69 and injuring 32. Among the dead were friends of Stoltenberg, and the stepbrother of Norway's crown princess Mette-Marit. The attack was the deadliest in Norway since
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. A survey found that one in four Norwegians knew someone affected. The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
,
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
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 deliv ...
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 arrested Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian far-right 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 Oslo District Court () is a district court located in Oslo, Norway. This court is based at the Oslo Courthouse in the city of Oslo. The court serves the entire city of Oslo and the court is subordinate to the Borgarting Court of Appeal. As the ...
, where Breivik admitted carrying out the attacks, but denied criminal guilt and claimed the defence of
necessity Necessary or necessity may refer to: Concept of necessity * 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 l ...
(). On 24 August, Breivik was convicted as charged and sentenced to 21 years of
preventive detention Preventive detention is an imprisonment that is putatively justified for non- punitive purposes, most often to prevent further criminal acts. Preventive detention sometimes involves the detention of a convicted criminal who has served their sente ...
in prison with the possibility of indefinite five-year extensions for public safety, the maximum sentence allowed in Norway.


Preparation for the attacks

Breivik was preparing for the attacks 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 Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
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 The Hyundai Atos () is a city car that was produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai from 1997 until 2014. It was also marketed under the Atoz, Amica and Hyundai Santro, Santro model names. From 1999, the Atos wit ...
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 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...
-type assault rifle, a
Glock pistol Glock (; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer- framed, short-recoil-operated, striker-fired, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military an ...
, hand-grenades and a
rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a Shaped charge, shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can ...
, 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 A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single round each time the Trigger (firearms), trigger is pulled while automatically loading the next Cartridge (firearms), cartridge. These rifles were developed Pre-World War II, and w ...
and a Glock pistol legally in Norway, noting that he had a "clean criminal record, hunting license, and two guns (a
Benelli Nova The Benelli Nova is a pump action shotgun, used for hunting and self-defense. It has a one-piece receiver and buttstock, made of steel-reinforced polymer. Technical specifications Two main models are available as well as one variant. Hunting T ...
12 gauge
pump-action shotgun Pump action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge and typically to cock the hammer or s ...
and a Weatherby Vanguard
.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 Bolt action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the turn-bolt via a bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (as most users are right-handed). The majority of b ...
) 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, the design was outwardly similar to the M14 rifle and is, in appearance, a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, though with its ...
semi-automatic carbine, ostensibly for the purpose of hunting deer. He bought it in late 2010 for
€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
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, the design was outwardly similar to the M14 rifle and is, in appearance, a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, though with ...
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 10 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 Glock (; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer- framed, short-recoil-operated, striker-fired, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military an ...
pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...
was approved. Breivik claimed in his manifesto that he bought 300g of
sodium nitrate Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt (chemistry), salt is also known as Chile saltpeter (large deposits of which were historically mined in Chile) to distinguish it from ordi ...
from a Polish shop for €10. The Polish ABW interviewed the company owner on 24 July 2011. Breivik's Polish purchases initially led to him 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, 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
chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...
s and materials, especially
fertiliser A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrition, plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from Liming (soil), liming materials or other non- ...
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 ex ...
s without arousing suspicion. The place of business was given as
Åmot Municipality Åmot is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rena ...
in
Hedmark Hedmark () was a Counties of Norway, county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmar ...
. On 4 May 2011, Breivik purchased of fertiliser through Geofarm at Felleskjøpet, of
ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, but does not form hydrates. It is predominantly us ...
and of calcium ammonium nitrate. 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 Ã…mot, 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 were a series of terrorist attacks on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attacks killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people ...
. 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 Pa ...
all by himself. The conclusion by Felleskjøpet 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 The Norwegian Police Security Service (, ) is the police security agency of Norway. The agency was previously known as ''POT'' (' or Police Surveillance Agency), the name change was decided by the Parliament of Norway on 2 June 2001. History an ...
, Janne Kristiansen, who stated "not even the
Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...
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 VÃ¥lstua farm in the municipality of Ã…mot, 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 ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a 2004 massively multiplayer online role-playing (MMORPG) video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment for Windows and Mac OS X. Set in the '' Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of War ...
'' as a cover for his extended period of isolation. He also said that he honed his shooting skills using an in-game
holographic sight A holographic weapon sight or holographic diffraction sight is a non- magnifying gunsight that allows the user to look through a glass optical window and see a holographic reticle image superimposed at a distance on the field of view. The hologram ...
similar to the one he used during the attacks.


Oslo car bombing

On 22 July 2011, at 15:25:22 ( CEST) 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 Pa ...
, 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, and several other governmental buildings, such as the
Ministry of Petroleum and Energy The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Energy () is a Norwegian ministry responsible for energy, including petroleum and natural gas production in the North Sea. It is led by Minister of Energy Terje Aasland of the Labour Party since 2022. The depar ...
(''R4''),
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
(''G block''), Ministry of Education and Research ('' Y block'') and the
Supreme Court of Norway The Supreme Court of Norway ( Norwegian Bokmål: ; Norwegian Nynorsk: ; lit. 'Highest Court') is the highest court in the Norwegian judiciary. It was established in 1815 on the basis of section 88 in the Constitution of the Kingdom 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 which 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 The Fiat Doblò is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle produced by Italian automaker Fiat since 2000. It was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October 2000. A second-generation Doblò succeeded the original vehicle in 2010 for most markets ...
. 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 20 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 ANFO ( ) (or AN/FO, for ammonium nitrate/fuel oil) is a widely used bulk industrial high explosive. It consists of 94% porous prilled ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) (AN), which acts as the oxidizing agent and absorbent for the fuel, and 6% number ...
), similar to that used in the
Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Perpetr ...
.


Effect on transport

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 The Oslo Metro ( or or simply ) is the rapid transit system of Oslo, Norway, operated by Sporveien T-banen on contract from the transit authority Ruter. The network consists of five lines that all run through the city centre, with a total leng ...
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). An e-mail communication with the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
from a traveller indicated that police were conducting searches of suspicious cars on the road to
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen Oslo Airport () , alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is an international airport serving Oslo, the capital and most populous city of Norway. The airport is the second largest in Scandinavia and the Nord ...
, which remained open. The
Gardermoen Line The Gardermoen Line () 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 Oslo. The older ...
between
Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Akershus county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger ...
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 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 138.56 km2. It has a volume of 13 km3, is 295 meters deep at its deepest, and lies 63 meters above sea level ...
, 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 Buskerud, Norway. The island is , situated off the shore, by the E16 road, about driving distance south of Hønefoss, and northwest of Oslo city centre. ...
, 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 National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
'', 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 A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...
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 will die today,
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
s, liberals, members of the elite!" Bøsei's husband and one of her daughters, who were also present, survived. The youngest victim, New Zealand-born Sharidyn Svebakk-Bøhn of
Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...
, was 14 years old. Sixteen-year-old Andrine Bakkene Espeland of
Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsbor ...
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 Norwegian People's Aid () was founded in 1939 to provide post-conflict reconstruction assistance and humanitarian relief during conflicts. NPA is now engaged in more than 33 countries in de-mining, Humanitarian aid, humanitarian relief, promotin ...
. Although Breivik fired two bullets through the door, he did not get through the locked door, and the people inside this building survived. Two Chechen teenagers, Movsar Dzhamayev (17) and Rustam Daudov (16) had pelted the gunman with rocks in an attempt to stop him. The teenagers said they then decided that it was too difficult to stop the gunman and better to save lives. 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 Gro Brundtland (; née Harlem, 20 April 1939) is a Norwegian politician in the Labour Party, who served three terms as the prime minister of Norway (1981, 1986–1989, and 1990–1996), as the leader of her party from 1981 to 1992, and as the d ...
, 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. Investigators later confirmed that they collected a total of 186 spent ammunition shell casings on the island.


Rescue and emergency response

The first shot was fired at 17:22. The
emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services, pre-hospital care or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to d ...
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), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...
, the
police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained and equipped to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. The tasks of a ...
in Oslo, were on the way to Utøya by car. One of the first to arrive on the scene was Marcel Gleffe, a German resident of Ski staying at Utvika Camping on the mainland. Recognising 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 ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' credited him with saving up to 30 lives. Another 40 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. 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 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, 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. 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 A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull (watercraft), hull bottom joined to side-forming a ...
(RHIB). On the day of the event, this boat was 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 an 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 county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...
branch of AUF. The youth was reportedly stripped naked and locked up in a jail cell, located only metres 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, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...
, was suspected of being an accomplice because his haircut was different from that shown on his
identity document An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...
, 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 17 hours. Lawyer Harald Stabell 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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, 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 Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
, behind the
2004 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 ...
, the 2015 Paris attacks, the
2016 Nice truck attack On the evening of 14 July 2016, a 19-tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds of people celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, resulting in the deaths of 86 people and injuring 450 others. The driver w ...
, and the 1980 Bologna bombing.


In 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. Fatalities in Oslo * Tove Ashill Knutsen, 56, Oslo * Hanna Endresen, 61, Oslo * Kai Hauge, 32, Oslo * Jon Vegard Lervag, 32, Oslo * Ida Marie Hill, 34, Oslo * Hanne Ekroll Loevlie, 30, Oslo * Anne Lise Holter, 51, Valer i Oestfold, Oestfold county * Kjersti Berg Sand, 26, Nord-Ordal


In 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) on 23 July,
NRK1 NRK1 (pronounced as ''"NRK en"'' or ''"- ein"'') is the main television channel of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). History Test broadcasts started on 12 January 1954, regular test broadcasts began on 13 April 1958, and regular bro ...
and TV2, 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 Norwegian Labour Party, Labour Party. In 2011, Mæland was appointed director of the National Police Directorate, a position he retained until ...
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 Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...
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 metres. 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 a 23-year-old man who was shot died two days later in hospital from the bullet wounds to his 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 A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
, and also a woman from
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
. 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. Fatalities in Utøya * Mona Abdinur, 18, Oslo * Maria Maagerø Johannesen, 17, Nøtterøy, Vestfold county * Ismail Haji Ahmed, 19, Hamar, Hedmark county * Ronja Søttar Johansen, 17, Vefsn, Nordland county * Thomas Margido Antonsen, 16, Oslo * Sondre Kjøren, 17, Orkdal, Sør-Trøndelag county * Porntip Ardam, 21, Oslo * Margrethe Bøyum Kløven, 16, Baerum, Akershus county * Modupe Ellen Awoyemi, 15, Drammen, Buskerud county * Syvert Knudsen, 17, Lyngdal, Vest-Agder county * Lene Maria Bergum, 19, Namsos, Nord-Trødelag * Anders Kristiansen, 18, Bardu, Troms county * Kevin Daae Berland, 15, Askøy, Hordaland county * Elisabeth Trønnes Lie, 16, Halden, Østfold county * Trond Berntsen, 51, Øvre Eiker, Buskerud county * Gunnar Linaker, 23, Bardu, Troms county * Sverre Flate Bjørkavag, 28, Sula, Sør-Trøndelag county * Tamta Lipartelliani, 23, Georgia * Torjus Jakobsen Blattmann, 17, Kristiansand,Vest-Agder county * Eva Kathinka Lutken, 17, Sarpsborg, Østfold county * Monica Bøsei, 45, Hole, Buskerud county * Even Flugstad Malmedal, 18, Gjøvik, Oppland county * Carina Borgund, 18, Oslo * Tarald Kuven Mjelde, 18, Osterøy * Johannes Buø, 14, Mandal, Vest-Agder county * Ruth Benedicte Vatndal Nilsen, 15, Tønsberg, Vestfold county * Asta Sofie Helland Dahl, 16, Sortland, Nordland county * Hakon Ødegaard, 17, Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag county * Sondre Furseth Dale, 17, Haugesund, Rogaland county * Emil Okkenhaug, 15, Levanger, Nord-Trøndelag county * Monica Iselin Didriksen, 18, Sund, Hordaland county * Diderik Aamodt Olsen, 19, Nesodden, Akershus county * Gizem Dogan, 17, Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag county * Henrik Pedersen, 27, Porsanger, Finnmark county * Andreas Edvardsen, 18, Sarpsborg, Østfold county * Rolf Christopher Johansen Perreau, 25, Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag county * Tore Eikeland, 21, Osteroy, Hordaland county * Karar Mustafa Qasim, 19, Vestby, Akershus county * Bendik Rosnaes Ellingsen, 18, Rygge, Østfold county * Bano Abobakar Rashid, 18, Nesodden, Akershus county * Aleksander Aas Eriksen, 16, Meråker, Nord-Trøndelag county * Henrik Rasmussen, 18, Hadsel, Nordland county * Andrine Bakkene Espeland, 16, Fredrikstad, Østfold county * Synne Røyneland, 18, Oslo * Hanne Balch Fjalestad, 43, Lunner, Oppland county * Ida Beathe Rogne, 17, Østre Toten, Oppland county * Silje Merete Fjellbu, 17, Tinn, Telemark county * Simon Saebo, 18, Salangen, Troms county * Hanne Kristine Fridtun, 19, Stryn, Sogn og Fjordane county * Marianne Sandvik, 16, Hundvag, Stavanger * Andreas Dalby Grønnesby, 17, Stange, Hedmark county * Fredrik Lund Schjetne, 18, Eidsvoll, Akershus county * Snorre Haller, 30, Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag county * Lejla Selaci, 17, Fredrikstad, Østfold county * Rune Havdal, 43, Øvre Eiker, Buskerud county * Birgitte Smetbak, 15, Nøtterøy, Vestfold county * Guro Vartdal Havoll, 18, Ørsta, Møre og Romsdal * Isabel Victoria Green Sogn, 17, Oslo * Ingrid Berg Heggelund, 18, As, Akershus county * Silje Stamneshagen, 18, Askøy, Hordaland county * Karin Elena Holst, 15, Rana, Nordland county * Victoria Stenberg, 17, Nes, Akershus county * Eivind Hovden, 15, Tokke, Telemark county * Tina Sukuvara, 18, Vadsø, Finnmark county * Jamil Rafal Mohamad Jamil, 20, Eigersund, Rogaland county * Sharidyn Svebakk-Bøhn, 14, Drammen, Buskerud county * Steinar Jessen, 16, Alta, Finnmark county * Havard Vederhus, 21, Oslo * Espen Jørgensen, 17, Bodø, Nordland county


Perpetrator

Public broadcaster
NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...
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 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 subspecialty 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 Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, hearing voices), delusions, disorganized thinking and behavior, and flat or inappropriate affect. Symptoms develop gradually and typically begin ...
and concluded he had been
psychotic In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or incoher ...
at the time of the attacks and was
criminally insane The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to a psychiatric disease at the time of the criminal act ...
. Although criticised in newspaper debates, the submitted report was approved with no remarks by the Norwegian Board of Forensic Medicine 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 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 A compendium ( compendia or compendiums) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a specific ...
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 Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...
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 "Cultural Marxism" refers to a far-right antisemitic conspiracy theory that misrepresents Western Marxism (especially the Frankfurt School) as being responsible for modern progressive movements, identity politics, and political correctness. ...
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 has multiple word-for-word similarities with the '' Unabomber Manifesto'', only substituting terms like "cultural Marxists" for
Ted Kaczynski Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; May 22, 1942 – June 10, 2023), also known as the Unabomber ( ), was an American mathematician and domestic terrorist. He was a mathematics prodigy, but abandoned his academic career in 1969 to pursue a reclusi ...
's "leftists" and, in a section criticizing
affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...
, "Muslims" for "black people". ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' 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 Gisèle Littman (; born 1933), better known by her pen name Bat Ye'or (, ''Daughter of the Nile''), is an Egyptian-born, British-Swiss author and historian, known for her promulgation of the Eurabia conspiracy theory. She claims that Islam, and ...
is cited dozens of times. Far-right and anti-Islam blogger
Pamela Geller Pamela Geller (born 1958) is an American anti-Muslim, far-right political activist, blogger and commentator. Geller promoted birther conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama, saying that he was born in Kenya and that he is a Muslim. ...
, the novel
The Turner Diaries ''The Turner Diaries'' is a 1978 novel by William Luther Pierce, the founder and chairman of National Alliance, an American white nationalist group, published under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald. It was initially syndicated in the National All ...
, Neo-pagan writer Koenraad Elst and
Daniel Pipes Daniel Pipes (born September 9, 1949) is an American former professor and commentator on foreign policy and the Middle East. He is the president of the Middle East Forum, and publisher of its ''Middle East Quarterly'' journal. His writing focus ...
are also mentioned as sources of inspiration. The manifesto further contains quotes from Middle East expert
Bernard Lewis Bernard Lewis, (31 May 1916 – 19 May 2018) was a British-American historian specialized in Oriental studies. He was also known as a public intellectual and political commentator. Lewis was the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near ...
,
Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...
,
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
,
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
and
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
, as well as from
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...
's ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday 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 N ...
'' column and
Melanie Phillips Melanie Phillips (born 4 June 1951) is a British 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 right-wing politics and the far ...
' ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'' column. The publication speaks in admiration of
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ayaan Hirsi Ali (; born 13 November 1969) is a Dutch and American writer, activist, conservative thinker and former politician. She is a critic of Islam and an advocate for the rights and self-determination of Muslim women, opposing forced mar ...
, Bruce Bawer, Srđa Trifković, and Henryk M. Broder. The compendium advocates a restoration of
patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...
, 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 Lat ...
far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
ideology and
xenophobic Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...
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 sometimes associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and anti-immigration sentiment. B ...
,
right-wing populism Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establis ...
,
ultranationalism Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific i ...
,
Islamophobia Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...
, far-right
Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
, and Serbian paramilitarism. It regards
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and "
cultural Marxism "Cultural Marxism" refers to a far-right antisemitic conspiracy theory that misrepresents Western Marxism (especially the Frankfurt School) as being responsible for modern progressive movements, identity politics, and political correctness. ...
" as the enemy and argues for the annihilation of "
Eurabia "Eurabia" (portmanteau of Europe and Arabia) is a far-right Islamophobic conspiracy theory that posits that globalist entities, led by French and Arab powers, aim to Islamize and Arabize Europe, thereby weakening its existing culture and u ...
" and
multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
, to preserve a
Christian Europe The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...
. He further urged Europeans to restore the historic
crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
against Islam as in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. 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 were a series of laws drafted by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in the absence of the Czechoslovak parliament during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II. They were issued by President Edvard Beneš fr ...
, which facilitated the
expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia The expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II was part of a broader series of Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), evacuations and deportations of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe during and after World War II. ...
after the Second World War, as an example for committing that act on European Muslims. 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 Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...
.Norway Gunman Anders Behring Breivik Released Manifesto on the Web â€“ 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) was a Far-right politics, far-right, Islamophobia, Islamophobic organisation active in England from 2009 until the mid-late 2010s. A social movement and Advocacy group, pressure group that employed street demo ...
, 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 Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon (' Yaxley; born 27 November 1982), better known as Tommy Robinson, is a British anti-Islam sentiment, anti-Islam campaigner and one of the UK's most prominent far-right activists. Robinson has been active in ...
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 Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...
. Breivik is described by the newspaper ''
Verdens Gang (), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norway, Norwegian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, declining from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. Nevertheless, ''VG'' is ...
'' as considering himself a conservative nationalist. According to ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...
'', Breivik was highly critical of Muslim immigration into Christian societies, is pro-Israel and an admirer of the
Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2007, catapulted into the mainstream by Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The movement expanded in resp ...
in the United States. Deputy police chief Roger Andresen 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 and
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
." According to the ''
International Business Times The ''International Business Times'' is an American online newspaper that publishes five national editions in four languages. The publication, sometimes called ''IBTimes'' or ''IBT'', offers news, opinion and editorial commentary on business and ...
'', 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, stating that he would "pray and sacrifice" to Odin. He also identified himself as a
fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
and a
national socialist Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequen ...
, stating that he previously exploited counterjihadist rhetoric in order to protect " ethno-nationalists". He has written many posts on the far-right website '' document.no''. 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. According to the then FpU leader
Ove Vanebo Ove André Vanebo (born 2 May 1983) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. From 2008 to 2012 he was the chairman of the Youth of the Progress Party, the youth wing of the Progress Party. He served as a deputy representative to the N ...
, 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 Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...
,
Richard the Lionheart Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
,
El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ( – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and ruler in medieval Spain. Fighting both with Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ("the Lord" or "the Master"), which would evolve i ...
,
Vlad the Impaler Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ) or Vlad Dracula (; ; 1428/31 – 1476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian hi ...
,
Jacques de Molay Jacques de Molay (; 1240–1250 – 11 or 18 March 1314), also spelled "Molai",Demurger, pp. 1–4. "So no conclusive decision can be reached, and we must stay in the realm of approximations, confining ourselves to placing Molay's date of birth ...
, Tsar Nicholas, and
John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 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, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...
. A
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
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 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
and Max Manus, and also of controversial Dutch politician
Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives. Wilders is best known for his right-wing p ...
, whose political party, the
Party for Freedom The Party for Freedom ( , PVV) is a right-wing populist, far-right political party in the Netherlands. Geert Wilders is the founder, party leader, and sole registered member of the party. Founded in 2006 as the successor to Wilders' one-ma ...
, 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 ("Helpers of the Global Jihad") led by Abu Suleiman al-Naser claimed responsibility for the attacks. Both during his trial and in his manifesto, Breivik stated to have been inspired by jihadist groups, and stated his willingness to work together with jihadist groups in order to conduct attacks with weapons of mass destruction against Western targets.


Reactions


Domestic

King Harald V Harald V (, ; born 21 February 1937) has been King of Norway since 1991. A member of the House of Glücksburg, Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the line of succ ...
sent his condolences to the victims and their families, and urged unity. He and
Queen Sonja Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway 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 relationship a secret due to the ...
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 from the Labour Party. Since 2025, he has been the Minister of Finance in the Støre Cabinet. He has previously been the prime minister of Norway and secretary general of NATO. ...
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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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, 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 Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (; Haakon Magnus; born 20 July 1973) is the heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. He is the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. Haakon represents the fourth generation of the sitting Norwegian royal fami ...
were present. The
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
of Norway's Parliament, Dag Terje Andersen, 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 In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
agreed to postpone the electoral campaign for
local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
, held in September, until mid-August. School debates were cancelled, though the school elections were not. Initially, Magnus Ranstorp 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 deliv ...
, 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 or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
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. Interviewed on a popular radio show, the Italian MEP
Francesco Speroni Francesco Enrico Speroni (born 4 October 1946, in Busto Arsizio) is an Italian politician. Career Speroni has been flight engineer from 1970 to 1997, remaining on leave since 1989. A member of the Northern League, Speroni has been a Member of ...
, a leading member of the
Lega Nord Lega Nord (LN; ), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing politics, right-wing, federalism, federalist, populism, populist and conservatism, conservative list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy. In the run-up to the 201 ...
, 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 The National Council (, ) is one of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament and is frequently referred to as the lower house. The constitution endows the National Council with far more power than the Federal Council. Responsibilities The Nat ...
, was expelled from the right-wing
Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five part ...
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''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...
held a
minute of silence Minuta Molchanya () known for its full title as To the Bright Memory of the Fallen in the Fight Against Fascism () is an annual simultaneous broadcast aired at 18:00 UTC annually on 9 May dedicated to the victims of Great Patriotic War. It broa ...
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 The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
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 The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...
led Frank Aarebrot, a Norwegian professor with political sympathies to the
Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party (; , A or Ap; ), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party (, DNA), is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Norway, political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centre-left of the political spectru ...
, 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 RÃ¥dhusplassen in Oslo. The
NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...
memorial concert, titled "Mitt lille land" ("My Little Country") and named for the song " Mitt lille land" which "came to symbolize the sorrow many people went through", took place in
Oslo Cathedral Oslo Cathedral () — formerly Our Savior's Church () — is the main church for the Church of Norway Diocese of Oslo, as well as the parish church for downtown Oslo. The present building dates from 1694 to 1697. The Norwegian royal family and th ...
on 30 July 2011. A national memorial ceremony took place on 21 August 2011. In September 2011, the
Norwegian People's Aid Norwegian People's Aid () was founded in 1939 to provide post-conflict reconstruction assistance and humanitarian relief during conflicts. NPA is now engaged in more than 33 countries in de-mining, Humanitarian aid, humanitarian relief, promotin ...
and
Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
released the memorial album '' Mitt lille land''.


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 Pa ...
'' in Oslo. It was unveiled on 22 July 2016, and is temporary. In 2024, 10 designs (each from a candidate) were presented to the public; in the future, one of the candidate's design will be chosen for the permanent memorial; each ''candidate'' consists of 1-3 persons; the 10 candidates include 20 persons; the project does not have an end date.


=National memorial at Utøya-kaia, Tyrifjorden

= Construction 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 138.56 km2. It has a volume of 13 km3, is 295 meters deep at its deepest, and lies 63 meters above sea level ...
) in Hole,
Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...
, is ongoing as of 2022. The memorial is expected to be completed during the first half of 2022. Work started in 2020. As of 7 December 2020 work is in progress; in January next year
021 069 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...
a court case is scheduled to continue; the lawsuit's aim is to block further construction. In September 2020, an
injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...
from Ringerike District 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; in December it was discontinued until January. Sixteen neighbours of the construction site are suing to have the work stopped; the
litigant A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. T ...
s 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 Angst is a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity. ''Anguish'' is its Romance languages, Latinate cognate, equivalent, and the words ''anxious'' and ''anxiety'' are of similar origin. Etymology The word ''angst'' was introduced in ...
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 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 attackat 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 s ...
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 Buskerud, Norway. The island is , situated off the shore, by the E16 road, about driving distance south of Hønefoss, and northwest of Oslo city centre. ...
, the place of memorial is called ; a part of it is —a "ring of steel
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
hangs 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 atAkersgata 55, the headquarters of ''
Verdens Gang (), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norway, Norwegian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, declining from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. Nevertheless, ''VG'' is ...
''. The installation is referred to by the governmental organisation KORO, 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 in the 53 affected municipalities in Norway who welcomed the same sculpture, funded by a private donation. *A ("
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 such as home ...
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 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.


Cancelled national memorial at Sørbråten

, Hole Municipality has stopped case work regarding the request for permission to build a national monument at ; 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 for the monument, and Karin Moe has called the planned monument at Sørbråten — " Breivik's Memorial Place". Later, in a
Klassekampen (Lit. translation: ''"The Class Struggle"'') is a Norwegian daily newspaper in print and online. Its tagline is "The daily newspaper of the Left". The paper's net circulation was 33,265 in 2022, and it has around 111,000 daily readers on paper ...
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 Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...
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 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 The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. A ...
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 (; ; stylized as in the masthead) is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation as well as Norway's newspaper of record. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 daily copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen ...
'' 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
lacing Lace is a lightweight fabric patterned with open holes. Lace(s) may also refer to: Arts and media Films * Lace (1926 film), ''Lace'' (1926 film), a German silent crime film * Lace (1928 film), ''Lace'' (1928 film), a Soviet silent film * Laces ( ...
the monument t Sørbråten will not change the government's plans; the letter was signed by Minister of Local Government and Modernisation and
Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...
. In an 11 June 2016 ''
Dagbladet () is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally it was considered the main liberal newspaper of Norway, with a ...
'' 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) 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 said in a ''
Klassekampen (Lit. translation: ''"The Class Struggle"'') is a Norwegian daily newspaper in print and online. Its tagline is "The daily newspaper of the Left". The paper's net circulation was 33,265 in 2022, and it has around 111,000 daily readers on paper ...
'' article that "Centuries will pass... Oh, yes. Here they have cut off a point—from the mountain mama. A landscape 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 () is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally it was considered the main liberal newspaper of Norway, with a ...
'', 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 Oslo District Court () is a district court located in Oslo, Norway. This court is based at the Oslo Courthouse in the city of Oslo. The court serves the entire city of Oslo and the court is subordinate to the Borgarting Court of Appeal. As the ...
. 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 t ...
to file was fierce. Many police attorneys wanted
high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...
or
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
. 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, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
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 A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility wher ...
. 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 "necessary". 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'' and ''
World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a 2004 massively multiplayer online role-playing (MMORPG) video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment for Windows and Mac OS X. Set in the '' Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of War ...
''. Some games were also temporarily removed from the Norwegian
WiiWare WiiWare was a digital media entertainment service operated by Nintendo that allowed the download of games and applications developed for the Wii video game console. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the W ...
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, 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 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 Stop Islamisation of Norway (, SIAN) is a Norwegian anti-Muslim group that was originally established in 2000. Its stated aim is to work against Islam, which it defines as a totalitarian political ideology that violates the Norwegian Constitutio ...
(SIAN) and the Norwegian Defence League (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 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
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 deliv ...
, 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 Norwegian Labour Party, Labour Party. In 2011, Mæland was appointed director of the National Police Directorate, a position he retained until ...
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 Grete Faremo (born 16 June 1955) is a Norwegian politician, lawyer and business leader. From August 2014 to May 2022, she held the post of Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). ...
. 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 t ...
A further 33 Labour Party candidates in the election were Utøya survivors and of those, Åsmund Aukrust,
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 and the
right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
Progress Party, of which Breivik had been a member from 1999 until 2004, to power.


Embezzlement from terror attack victims fund

In 2016, one person was sentenced to 120 days in prison for
embezzling Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...
300,000
Norwegian kroner The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is the currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including List of possessions of Norway, overseas territories and dependencies). It was t ...
from Støttegruppen etter 22. juli, a Norwegian
NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
; 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, the design was outwardly similar to the M14 rifle and is, in appearance, a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, though with its ...
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).


Copycat incidents


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 Kraków 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 The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Perpetr ...
. 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 Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
, the lower house of the Polish parliament, using a car bomb. Apart from targeting the parliament, Kwiecień was also preparing murders of Monika Olejnik, an influential journalist, and
Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz Hanna Beata Gronkiewicz-Waltz (, born 4 November 1952) is a Polish politician and lawyer, Professor of Jurisprudence and politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw between 2006 and 2018. She is the first and so far only woman to have hel ...
, the mayor of Warsaw. Kwiecień tried to arm himself 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 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, later dying in prison on 6 August 2019 from what is believed to have been a suicide.


Christchurch mosque shootings

Brenton Harrison Tarrant, the Australian-born perpetrator of two consecutive
mass shootings A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...
at mosques in
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, 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. The shootings took place at Al Noor Mosque, Christchurch, Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre during Friday Prayer on 15 March 2019, killing 51 people and injuring 40 more.


Depiction in popular culture

*The poem [These memories have no time to wait] ''Desse minna har ikkje tid til å vente'' (2021), by Frode Grytten


Films

*[To the Youth] ''Til ungdommen'' (2012), directed by Kari Anne Moe *''Utøya: July 22'', directed by Erik Poppe, was released in 2018. *''22 July (film), 22 July'', directed by Paul Greengrass, was released in 2018. *[The legacy of 22 July] ''Arven etter 22. juli'', directed by Tommy Gulliksen (:simple:Tommy Gulliksen, Simple English Wikipedia), was released in 2021


Music

The 2012 single "Some Die Young" by the Iranian-Swedish musician Laleh (singer), Laleh became closely associated with the national mourning process, with newspaper articles, university lectures and a number of fan videos to this effect emerging. Laleh was invited to perform as one of only two international artists at the official memorial concert in Oslo on the first anniversary of the event in 2012, and later performed the song at the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Concert. The song went on to peak at number one in the Norwegian charts for eight weeks and was certified fourteen times platinum in the country by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, IFPI Norway. In a 2017 episode of Sveriges Television's music documentary series ''Hitlåtens historia'', Laleh is invited to visit Utøya for the first time and meet survivors, reflecting on the significance her song took on as part of remembrance activities. The Austrian black metal band Harakiri for the Sky released a song titled, "69 Dead Birds for Utøya", on their 2014 album ''Aokigahara.'' Dutch symphonic metal band Epica (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 (singer), Aurora released a song entitled "Little Boy in the Grass", on her 2015 EP ''Running with the Wolves'', which is about the tragedy. Norwegian singer Anette Askvik released a song entitled "Liberty", on her 2011 album Liberty, the official video for which contains images of the tragedy and the dedication, "Til Minne om ofrene etter terrorhandlingene 22.07.2011" ("In memory of the victims of the terrorist acts on 22 July 2011"). A 2016 song performed by the Norwegian pop-rock band deLillos, "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, List of Seconds From Disaster episodes#Season 6 (2012), "Norway Massacre: I Was There". The ''Futurama'' episode "The Cryonic Woman" 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 The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...
5 January 2020.


See also

* Timeline of the 2011 Norway attacks * 22 July Information Centre, the government enquiry into the attacks *
Anders Behring Breivik Anders Behring Breivik (; born 13 February 1979), officially named Fjotolf Hansen from 2017 to 2025, and Far Skaldigrimmr Rauskjoldr av Northriki since March 2025, is a Norwegian neo-Nazi terrorist and mass murderer. He carried out the 2011 No ...
*
Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Perpetr ...
, a terrorist attack against government offices in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States of America, US, using similar explosives * 2016 Munich shooting, a mass shooting that occurred exactly five years after the attacks. * Christchurch mosque shootings, 2019 Christchurch shootings, a mass shooting in New Zealand partly inspired by the Norway attacks * 2020 Nova Scotia attacks, in Canada, where shooter impersonated a police officer * 2022 Buffalo shooting, a mass shooting in the United States also inspired by the Norway and Christchurch attacks * 2025 shootings of Minnesota legislators, politically-motivated shootings in the United States where the shooter impersonated a police officer * List of rampage killers (religious, political, or ethnic crimes) * Right-wing terrorism


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 (Seierstad book), ''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 (; ; stylized as in the masthead) is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation as well as Norway's newspaper of record. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 daily copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen ...
'', News report in Norwegian, with pictures.
Allvarligt bombattentat skakar Oslo
''Sveriges Radio'', News report in Swedish, with pictures.
Norway â€“ Breivik Attacks, July 2011
collected news and commentary at ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
Victims from the attacks in Oslo and at Utøya
(Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation)
Oslo Terrorist Attacks â€“ Terrorism with a different face, in a different place


(Official report) *Kjetil Alstadheim. https://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kommentar/i/V9yBAl/noe-gikk-galt-paa-stortinget-etter-22-juli [Something went wrong in Parliament, after the 22 July (attack)]. 27 August 2022.
Aftenposten (; ; stylized as in the masthead) is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation as well as Norway's newspaper of record. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 daily copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen ...
.no


Images


Deadly Attacks In Norway
– slideshow by ''
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