Last week a man went on a stabbing spree in the Norwegian town of Sarpsborg, killing one woman and wounding two others. As in most European crime reports, there seems to be a general reticence to discuss the ethnicity of the suspect. However, if you dig down into the five videos below, you’ll find one police press conference where the spokesbeing notes that the perpetrator was a Norwegian citizen, but “not an ethnic Norwegian”. There are no further specifics on the origin of the marauder, but it would probably be unwise to bet on his being Swedish or Danish.
Many thanks to Kronans Martell (Ullis News) for the translations, and to Vlad Tepes and RAIR Foundation for the subtitling.
Video 1: News report
Video 2: News report from VG (Verdens Gang, tabloid newspaper)
Video 3: Police press conference
Video 4: Eyewitness interview
Video 5: News report from SVT (Swedish state broadcasting)
Video transcript #1:
| 00:00 | There have been three stabbing attacks tonight in downtown Sarpsborg. | |
| 00:09 | Three persons were wounded; | |
| 00:13 | one of them is unfortunately confirmed dead. | |
| 00:17 | The second person is critically wounded, and the third has minor injuries. | |
| 00:23 | The police have arrested a suspected perpetrator; he is reportedly already in custody. | |
| 00:30 | Tonight we have brought in all available resources to Sarpsborg. | |
| 00:40 | We have completed the emergency phase, which is one of the investigation phases. | |
| 00:46 | We are working with various witnesses, and the forensic specialists | |
| 00:50 | are working at three different locations. | |
| 00:56 | We will continue working on this during the night… | |
| 00:59 | this is a press conference. | |
| 01:02 | There will be more information available tomorrow during the daytime. | |
| 01:08 | Do you what the suspect’s motive was to carry this out? | |
| 01:12 | It’s early to look for a motive. As has been mentioned, | |
| 01:16 | we’ve just initiated the investigations. We’ll answer your questions thoroughly later. | |
| 01:21 | Were the victims attacked randomly? —It’s very early to know. | |
| 01:24 | The investigations will hopefully provide an answer. |
Video transcript #2:
| 00:00 | The woman who was stabbed to death Tuesday night in Sarpsborg was Marianne Haugen, a 54-year-old. | |
| 00:07 | She was sitting in her car waiting for her daughter at a bus station downtown | |
| 00:12 | when a man stabbed her. | |
| 00:15 | Two other women were attacked as well; | |
| 00:18 | recent information indicates that they survived. The 31-year-old man | |
| 00:21 | has been arrested on charges of homicide and attempted homicide. |
Video transcript #3:
| 00:00 | I am Police Inspector Agnes Beate and my colleague is: | |
| 00:05 | I am Christian Berge, leading officer, Organized Crimes Division, Eastern Police District. | |
| 00:12 | We start first off by giving a brief overview of the event; | |
| 00:17 | then we will have time to answer your questions. | |
| 00:21 | Last night, Tuesday night, we received a call around 23:30 reporting | |
| 00:27 | that a woman had been stabbed at a bus stop in Sarpsborg [Norway]. | |
| 00:32 | The woman was sitting in her car waiting for a family member. | |
| 00:38 | A few minutes later, we received another call reporting that another woman had been stabbed, | |
| 00:45 | this time in St. Nikolas Street in Sarpsborg. | |
| 00:48 | We received the final call reporting a wounded victim at St. Oskar’s Street | |
| 00:54 | approximately ten minutes after the first call. | |
| 01:00 | One of the victims recognized the perpetrator, | |
| 01:05 | which subsequently led to his arrest at his registered address one hour later… | |
| 01:10 | So, the perpetrator was arrested one hour after we received the first call. | |
| 01:16 | The perpetrator is a 31-year-old man, a Norwegian citizen, | |
| 01:22 | but not an ethnic Norwegian. | |
| 01:26 | The man is in custody on charges of homicide and attempted homicide. | |
| 01:32 | The police wish to interrogate the man during the day — today. | |
| 01:38 | He has retained an attorney; his name is Lawyer Harald Otterstad. | |
| 01:46 | The examination is ongoing and the police have had contact with [the suspect]. | |
| 01:52 | He was examined a doctor; afterwards he was hospitalized. | |
| 01:59 | The police authorities are investigating to determine | |
| 02:03 | whether his psychological status was relevant to the incident. | |
| 02:07 | This event had a very tragic outcome. | |
| 02:11 | A woman in her 50s died. | |
| 02:14 | Another was seriously wounded… | |
| 02:19 | Updated information about the woman who was believed to be seriously wounded… | |
| 02:28 | It was initially classified as “critical”… | |
| 02:32 | Indicating that [she has been recovering]… | |
| 02:36 | The other person was less seriously injured. | |
| 02:41 | The perpetrator has not previously been sentenced on charges of violence. | |
| 02:48 | Information has circulated implying that he was convicted of violent crimes. | |
| 02:53 | He was prosecuted for a violent offense, but then he was judged not guilty. | |
| 02:58 | We have confirmed details, so far, indicating that the perpetrator | |
| 03:02 | had relationship with two of the victims. | |
| 03:06 | But the police authorities have not confirmed information regarding | |
| 03:11 | any relationship between the perpetrator and the deceased woman. | |
| 03:17 | Furthermore… | |
| 03:20 | We have asked possible eyewitnesses to contact us. | |
| 03:26 | We’re trying to contact people who saw the event on Tuesday night, | |
| 03:30 | or have any information about the event. | |
| 03:34 | We’ve published an available hotline. | |
| 03:37 | We will talk about this more later. | |
| 03:42 | This was a general overview of the incident. |
Video transcript #4:
| 00:00 | I woke up to a scream! | |
| 00:03 | What sort of scream? —Yelling! A scream of horror! | |
| 00:07 | I saw when she was transported in an ambulance last night. | |
| 00:13 | It was a woman. Everything happened quickly! | |
| 00:17 | Nevertheless, I felt that something serious had just taken place. | |
| 00:20 | I don’t get scared easily, but I was frightened for real last night. | |
| 00:24 | Were you scared last night? —Yes, I was. Imagine you are sleeping | |
| 00:28 | and you hear screams. You’ll wonder what’s going on, won’t you? | |
| 00:31 | It was nasty, especially when it happens very close to you. | |
| 00:35 | I completely understand you. —I live alone. | |
| 00:41 | This event will probably shadow me for a while. | |
| 00:45 | Although, I don’t think it will affect me. |
Video transcript #5:
| 16:49 | A 50-year-old woman was stabbed to death and another two women were injured | |
| 16:55 | during several stabbing attacks in the Norwegian city of Sarpsborg | |
| 16:59 | late last night near the Swedish border. | |
| 17:02 | A 31-year-old man has been arrested. He is suspected of homicide and attempted homicide. | |
| 17:07 | According to the Norwegian media, the man knew two of the victims. | |
| 17:11 | He was also transported to hospital for medical treatment for paranoid delusional disorder. |