Oslo, August 12 (RHC)-- In Norway, police say the suspected gunman who attacked a mosque near the capital Oslo Saturday has a history of posting white supremacist content online. The man, who was identified by local press as 22-year-old Philip Manshaus, praised the mass shooting in El Paso last week, which targeted Mexican immigrants, and April’s shooting at a San Diego synagogue. He also praised the massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand, which killed 51 Muslim worshipers in March.
Saturday’s shooting at the al-Noor Islamic Center, which injured one elderly worshiper who helped tackle the gunman, is being investigated as a “possible act of terrorism.” After the attack, the dead body of the suspected shooter’s stepsister was found at his home. She was 17 years old. In last week’s mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, the gunman shot and killed his sister, along with eight others.
Irfan Mushtaq, the director of the mosque, told reporters: “For so many years, the secret police says the Muslims are the biggest risk for this country. But if you look at those last two major incidents of terrorist activities, it’s not Muslims who have done this. So, this is affecting our children, because the identity of our children has been broken up. We are harassed on a daily basis. It’s time for the Norwegian government to take a clear standpoint what they’re going to do moving forward to make us secure in Norway.”