Suspect in Norway mosque attack charged with terrorism

Monitoring Desk

COPENHAGEN: A Norwegian man suspected of killing his stepsister and then storming an Oslo mosque with firearms “with the intention to kill as many Muslims as possible” was formally charged Monday with murder and terror.

Philip Manshaus was overpowered inside the Al-Noor Islamic Center mosque in suburban Oslo in August. He fired six shots but didn’t hit anyone. One person was slightly injured when they jumped on Manshaus inside the mosque and held him until police arrived.

The prosecution says Manshaus, 22, is suspected of killing his 17-year-old stepsister, Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen, by shooting her four times — three in the head and one in the chest — with a hunting rifle at their home in the Oslo suburb of Baerum.

Shortly after that, Manshaus drove to a nearby mosque where three men were preparing for Eid al-Adha celebrations. He wore a helmet with a video camera attached and a bulletproof vest, according to the charge sheet obtained by The Associated Press.

Armed with a hunting rifle and a shotgun, Manshaus fired four shots with the rifle at a glass door before he was overpowered by one of the men in the mosque at the time, Muhammad Rafiq. During the scuffle, Manshaus fired two more shots but no one was hit.

A trial is scheduled to start May 7 in Oslo.

Courtesy: (AP)