Mosque attacker tells court he wishes he killed more

Monitoring Desk

COPENHAGEN: A Norwegian man suspected of killing his ethnic Chinese stepsister and then storming an Oslo mosque and opening fire last year said Thursday that it was an act of “emergency justice” and that he regretted not having caused more damage.

Philip Manshaus appe-ared at a court west of No-rway’s capital for the first day of his trial and denied charges of murder and terror read to him by a prosecutor, the Norwegian news agency NTB said. Mans-haus has acknowledged the facts but denies the accusation, saying he opposes non-Western immigration.

Broadcaster NRK said that during his testimony Manshaus claimed the white race “will end up as a minority in their own home countries” and criticized those who “blackmail national socialism.”

In court, Manshaus, 22, described how he killed his 17-year-old stepsister, Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen, by shooting her four times — three in the head and once in the chest — with a hunting rifle at their home in the Oslo suburb of Baerum on August 10, 2019. Ihle-Hansen was adopted from China as a 2-year old. Shortly after that, Manshaus said he drove to a nearby mosque where three men were preparing for Eid al-Adha celebrations. He wore a helmet with a video camera attach-ed and a bulletproof vest,

“I did everything I could to carry out the attack,” he told court, adding he was exhausted when police arrived. The prosecution says Manshaus acted “with the intention to kill as many Muslims as possible.”

Some 30 witnesses, inc-luding the men at the mo-sque and Manshaus’ father, are expected to give evidence. If found guilty, Ma-nshaus could face up to 21 years in prison. The prosecutor has said it would consider a sentence where he would be sent to a secure mental facility for as long as he is considered a danger to others. (AP)