At least 80 dead in Norway youth camp attack

Multiple deaths in Oslo explosion; police say suspect under arrest, linked to both attacks

OSLO, Norway — At least 80 people were killed in a shooting attack on a youth camp in Norway, police said early Saturday, a devastating elevation of the death toll in twin attacks that included a bomb attack in Oslo.

National police Chief Oystein Maeland said the attack had reached "catastrophic dimensions."

Police arrested a 32-year-old Norwegian man at the youth camp on the island and linked him to both assaults but said they did not know the motive.

Norwegian media identified him as Anders Behring Breivik and said authorities searched his home.

At least seven people were killed Friday when the bomb exploded in the Norwegian capital in mid-afternoon, blowing out the windows of the prime minister's building and damaging the finance and oil ministry building. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was not in the building at the time. The blast scattered glass, shattered masonry and twisted steel across the streets.

A couple of hours later, a gunman opened fire at the youth camp on Utoya island, about 25 miles northwest of Oslo. After early reports of nine deaths, Norwegian police reported early Saturday that many more bodies had been found.

"The updated knowledge we are sitting on now is at least 80," Maeland told a news conference. "We can't guarantee that won't increase somewhat," he said, adding some victims were badly injured.

It was the biggest attack in Western Europe since the 2004 Madrid train bombings killed 191.

"You will not destroy us," Stoltenberg, who had been scheduled to appear at an event on the island, said at an emotional press conference. "You will not destroy our democracy or our ideals for a better world."

Island terror
The camp on the small, wooded island in Tyrifjord lake was full of youngsters 14 to 18 years old, attending an event run by the Labor Party.

Astrid Randen, a reporter for Norwegian broadcaster NRK, quoted witnesses as saying the man — described as "tall, blond and Nordic-looking" and speaking Norwegian — wore a police uniform and summoned youth at the political gathering to gather around him before he "just executed them."

Jorgen Benone recounted a terrifying ordeal to Sky News. He said he was about to sit down with others to eat when they heard a loud commotion by the water.

"People were wondering, what's happening?... Then people began understanding that people had been shot," he said. "People started jumping out of windows, running everywhere, all directions — they were terrified for their life.

"Most people ran toward the water, hiding behind stones... The guy was dressed like a policeman. It was total chaos, people were jumping into the water trying to swim to the other side."

He told the British media outlet he saw the shooter about 60 feet away and didn't dare make a move. "I thought, I'm terrified for my life," he said. "I thought about all the people I love and I just wanted to go home."

Another survivor, Emilie Bersaas, told Sky News she heard gunshots, fled to nearby building and hid under a bed.

"The shooting came from all different directions," she said. "It was very terrifying. At one point the shooting was very, very close to the building — I think it actually hit the building one time."

The Norwegian news agency NTB quoted witnesses describing a scene of "complete panic."

A witness said in a text message that "we are very afraid," the agency reported. "We do not know what to do. Many people are injured. We are afraid. We are waiting for help. Some are seriously injured. We cannot do anything."

The island is in Tyrifjord lake, about one-third of a mile from the mainland at its closest point, with no bridge. Anita Lien, who lives on the lake near the island, described a terrifying scene.

"I just saw people jumping into the water, about 50 people swimming toward the shore. People were crying, shaking, they were terrified," Lien said,

Under arrest
The suspect was arrested on the island, but the circumstances were not clear. Police said a man of similar description had been seen earlier in Oslo before the explosion there.

A camp guard, Simen Braenden Mortensen, said that the gunman had tricked his way onto the island by posing as a policeman driving a silver grey car.

"He gets out of the car and shows ID, says he's sent there to check security, that that is purely routine in connection with the terror attack (in Oslo)," Mortensen told the daily Verdens Gang.

"It all looks fine, and a boat is called and it carries him over to Utoya. A few minutes passed, then we heard shots," he said.

Bjorn Jarle Rodberg Larsen, a member of the Hedmark County Council of Labor, told Nettavisen that colleagues on the scene said the man walked in Friday afternoon shortly after the bombing.

"He was in a police uniform and said he was part of the increased security," Larsen said, quoting the eyewitnesses. "A little after he arrived, he took out a gun and began shooting."

Several prominent politicians made appearances at the island event this week. Former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland gave a speech earlier Friday, and Stoltenberg had been scheduled to speak Saturday.

At a news conference Friday night, police said the gunman was not connected to the police and "has no relation to us."

People in at least 20 pleasure boats converged on the island to help with the rescue operation. One of them, André Skeie, told NRK that he saw at least a dozen "lifeless bodies" floating in the water.

Skeie said he helped remove more than 15 injured people from the island. Many of them were shot in the stomach, he said.

"It's absolutely awful. It looks like a war zone," Skeie said by phone.

Early Saturday, Police and dogs were still searching the island and lake from boats and helicopters, with ambulances on standby. Searchlights slowly swept the water in the dark.

Bombing in Oslo
In Oslo, police confirmed at least seven dead in the bomb blast. At least 10 injured people were admitted to Oslo University Hospital, a hospital spokesman told Reuters.

Why would terrorists want to attack Norway?

The blast blew out most windows on the 17-story building housing Stoltenberg's office, as well as nearby ministries including the oil ministry, which caught fire.

"People ran in panic," bystander Kjersti Vedun said. "I counted at least 10 injured people."

Heavy debris littered the streets and a tall plume of brown smoke rose over the city center. The tangled wreckage of a vehicle could be seen near the blast site.

The Reuters correspondent said the streets had been fairly quiet in mid-afternoon on a Friday in high summer, when many Oslo residents take vacation or leave for weekend breaks.

A Twitter user, Christian Aglen, @chaglen, posted what he said was a short video of the aftermath of the blast.

Sulfur in the air
Olaf Furniss, a freelance journalist in Oslo, told the BBC that he was in a cafe when the blast went off, but he had not realized how big it was until he went outside. Residents reported the smell of sulfur in the air.

One witness in Oslo, who spoke to the BBC and was identified only as Ella, said, "We are the good guys; stuff like this doesn't happen to us."

However, political violence is virtually unknown in the country.

"There certainly aren't any domestic Norwegian terrorist groups although there have been some al-Qaida-linked arrests from time to time," David Lea, Western Europe analyst at Control Risks, said. "They are in Afghanistan and were involved in Libya, but it's far too soon to draw any conclusions."

An injured man is treated at the scene after an explosion near the government buildings in Norway's capital Oslo Friday.
Lise Sand described the blast in a series of messages on her Twitter account.

"Our windows shook, and we could actually feel the shake," she added. "The whole area is evacuated. Sirens everywhere."

Craig Barnes, a British man who was in the center of Oslo when the blast happened, told the Sky News that he had "put my foot down" on the accelerator of the car and got to a friend's house.

"It's absolute chaos, there are many people injured," he told Sky.

"There's debris over at least half a kilometer (546 yards) ... total chaos," Barnes added. "It's absolutely mad."

This article includes reporting from Reuters, msnbc.com staff and NBC News.