Woman In Pool Of Blood As Man Goes On Killing Spree Using Bow And Arrow

A man armed with a bow and arrow killed five people and injured two others during a rampage in Norway Wednesday, police and witnesses said.

The attack, which lasted around 30 minutes, started when the armed man began shooting at people from inside a Coop Extra supermarket on the west side of the town of Kongsberg, News.com.au reported. The time the attack started varied between reports, but it appeared to have been past 6 p.m. local time.

One of the people wounded in the attack was an off-duty police officer, a report by Reuters said.

Witnesses also spoke of finding an injured woman with an arrow in her body calling out for help in a pool of blood near a traffic junction.

The current conditions of the injured victims are unknown.

Police were alerted to the attack shortly before 6:15 p.m. local time, the BBC reported. There was a confrontation between the man and police before the attacker was detained half an hour later, according to the outlet.

The man was taken to a police station in the nearby town of Drammen, but police revealed no other details about the man. He has yet to be questioned, and the motives behind the attack are still unknown.

"From the information we now have, this person carried out these actions alone," police chief Oeyvind Aas told reporters.

Police will investigate whether the attack was an act of terrorism, Aas noted.

Authorities are also investigating whether other weapons were used in the attack aside from the bow and arrow, the police chief added. The man also carried a knife or other weapons, according to the Norwegian network TV 2.

The armed man moved over a large area of Kongsberg, which is home to around 28,000 people, and authorities have cordoned off several parts of the town. Residents have also been ordered to stay indoors so authorities can examine the scene and gather evidence.

Norway's prime minister, Erna Solberg, described the incident as "horrifying," according to Reuters.

"I understand that many people are afraid, but it’s important to emphasize that the police are now in control," Solberg said in a press conference late Wednesday.

Norway's National Police Directorate has ordered officers nationwide to carry firearms following the attacks. Norwegian police are reportedly usually unarmed, but officers have access to guns when needed.

"This is an extra precaution. The police have no indication so far that there is a change in the national threat level," the directorate said in a statement.