Norway attacker sent to health services amid doubt over mental state
- Police identified the killer as Espen Andersen Braathen, 37, a Danish citizen known to the Norwegian intelligence service
- Four women and one man between the ages of 50 and 70 died and three other people were wounded at a supermarket at other locations in town of Kongsberg
A Norway court on Friday ordered the man who confessed to killing five people in a bow-and-arrow attack to be held in detention in a medical facility, as questions mounted about his mental health.
Espen Andersen Braathen, a Danish citizen who converted to Islam and is believed to have been radicalised, will be held for an initial period of four weeks, the first two in total isolation, judge Ann Mikalsen ruled.
A full psychiatric evaluation -- which can take several months, according to the prosecutor -- is necessary to determine whether Braathen, 37, can be held legally responsible for his actions.
“This indicates that things are not exactly as they should be,” his lawyer, Fredrik Neumann said, referring to his client’s mental health.
“A complete judicial assessment will clarify that,” he told Norwegian daily VG.
Braathen was not present in court on Friday, having not contested the detention request.
While authorities have said the attack appeared to be an act of terror, they have not ruled out that it may have been the act of a mentally unstable person.