By: Derek Sun
2 people died on Saturday and 21 people were wounded in what authorities are calling “an act of Islamist terrorism.” A 42-year-old man identified as Zaniar Matapour has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, and terrorism. The gunman allegedly targeted LGBTQ+ groups at a gay bar. The shooting unfolded in the early hours of Saturday morning in and around Oslo’s London Pub (a popular LGBTQ+ venue), the Herr Nilsen jazz club, and another pub.
The Oslo Cathedral has been decorated with rainbow flags that represent the LGBTQ+ community. A church service was also held to honor the victims in the downtown of the Norwegian capital. “Bullets cannot kill love,” said the head of the Norwegian Protestant Church, Olav Fyske Tviet. The church has historically been opposed to marriage rights for same-sex couples, and Tviet said: “[w]e see that we can learn, sometimes in spite of ourselves, that diversity is a present, a richness, and that many homosexuals have a capacity for love that we are incapable of.”
While the pride parade in Oslo was canceled, thousands of people marched into Oslo’s streets to protest the shooting, waving rainbow flags and chanting, “[w]e’re here, we’re queer, and we won’t disappear!” In Florida, hundreds of thousands of people attended a pride parade. A woman that lived next door to the alleged shooter said it was “eerie” that he lived so close to her. She also said the feeling is strengthened because her partner is a woman.
The gunman was tackled by four people and arrested by police officers shortly after he opened fire. Two weapons were retrieved from the scene, one of which was a fully automatic rifle. As the attacker was tackled, his gun fell out of his hands and onto the ground. A witness nearby ran and stood on the firearm so that nobody could take it. “There is a reason that this might be a hate crime,” police said. “It is unclear whether or not LGBTQ+ communities were targeted.”
When people were asked if the shooting had ruined pride month, they said, “our case is strengthened, not his.” Norway has a relatively low crime rate compared to other parts of the world but has still experienced some of the worst mass shootings in Europe. In 2011, a gunman shot and killed 69 people on the island of Umoya after setting of a bomb in Oslo that killed 8. It is inevitable that another mass shooting will occur.