Europa geschokt door Noors bloedbad (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU politicians on Saturday (23 July) expressed their horror and outrage at the death of at least 84 youngsters shot on the Norwegian island of Utoeya by a gunman allegedly also responsible for the blast in central Oslo that killed another 8 people.
"It is with great horror that I have learned about further attacks at Utoeya island in Norway that claimed lives of many young people," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Saturday in a statement.
"The European Union strongly condemns the attacks and stands ready to support Norway in this time of sorrow," she added.
The massacre of Utoeya unfolded on Friday afternoon, just hours after a bomb blast rocked the governmental district of Oslo. A gunman dressed up in police uniform rounded up teenagers gathered for a political summer camp of the Labour Party and started randomly shooting at them with a machine gun.
"This is an unimaginable tragedy for the families who lost their loved ones, young people at the outset of their adult life, fascinated with public service. It is a terrible tragedy for all of Norway and the world. It's shocking how one can inflict so much evil," European Parliament chief Jerzy Buzek said.
According to Norwegian police, the gunman is a 32-year old Norwegian, whose name has not been officially confirmed. He has been arrested and is also charged with the Oslo bombing that has claimed eight lives. If found guilty, the man faces a maximum prison sentence of 21 years.
In a televised address on Friday night, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said this was "a national tragedy" and the worst act of violence in Norway since World War II.
Stoltenberg, who chairs the Labour Party, had been due to address the youth camp at the Utoeya island later on Saturday. "For me, Utoeya was the paradise of my youth, now it has become hell," the politician said.
Police were still searching the waters of the lake near Oslo where Utoeya lies on Saturday morning, as many youngsters jumped off the cliffs and tried to swim to the mainland in the mass panic that unfolded when the gunman started shooting.
Eye witnesses at Utoeya told local media that the suspect had "deliberately targeted" people and that some of them tried hiding behind rocks or bushes, hoping not to be detected.
Oslo police deputy chief Roger Andresen said that the suspect had links to the far right and had expressed extremist and anti-Islamist views on some sites on the internet, but had not given any motive for his deeds.
Norway's VG newspaper cited a Twitter account set up by the suspect a week before the attack citing British philosopher John Stuart Mill: "One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests."
Later on Saturday, police said they were also investigating reports that a second man might have been involved in the shooting on Utoeya island.