Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen, step-sister of accused Norway mosque shooter Philip Manshaus. Photo: Handout
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3027748/norway-mosque-shooter-philip-manshaus-killed-sister-over-her Europe
Norway mosque shooter Philip Manshaus killed stepsister over her ‘Chinese origin’, police say
- Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen, who was adopted by Manshaus’ father’s girlfriend, was shot three times in head and once in chest
- Her body was found at home after Manshaus was arrested for opening fire in Oslo mosque in August
Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen, stepsister of accused Norway mosque shooter Philip Manshaus
A Norwegian man accused of killing his stepsister before opening fire in a mosque near Oslo in August had racist motives, police said on Tuesday, confirming he shot her because of her Chinese origin.
Philip Manshaus, 22, was arrested after opening fire in the Al-Noor mosque in an affluent Oslo suburb on August 10 before he was overpowered by a 65-year-old man.
Just three worshippers were in the mosque at the time, and there were no serious injuries.
The body of his 17-year-old stepsister was later found in their home.
Adopted by his father’s girlfriend, Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen, was killed by four bullets, police said in a statement.
The autopsy report said she was shot three times in the head and once in the chest, each one fatal. She was found in her bed.
Manshaus’ explanation and technical evidence, including the lack of a struggle, “support the version that she was killed because of what the attacker considers as race, because she was of Asian origin”, police official Pal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby told TV2.
Police had until now been considering two possible motives for her murder: that of a racist crime, and that she may have found out about his plan for the mosque shooting and tried to stop him.
Say her name: Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen (17) was the Bærum, Norway right-wing extremist mosque shooter's only victim, and his adoptive step-sister, born in China: https://t.co/UZEHapUHra
— Sindre Bangstad (@SBangstad) August 14, 2019
Kraby said that a .22-calibre rifle found in Manshaus’ car at the mosque was the same weapon used in the shooting of Ihle-Hansen.
Norwegian media outlets have reported that Manshaus posted a message praising mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March, a few hours before the mosque attack in Baerum.
Manshaus, who is being held in custody pending formal charges, has admitted to the facts but has rejected the “terrorist act” and “murder” suspicions against him.
On September 9, at a court hearing to extend his detention in custody, Manshaus raised his arm in a Nazi salute to the assembled media.
Additional reporting by dpa