Possibility that Bråthen could carry out a low-scale attack
PST received the first tip about Espen Andersen Bråthen in 2015. Three years later, PST notified the health service that he might be able to carry out a low-scale attack with simple means.
PST received the first tip about Espen Andersen Bråthen in 2015.
– Then we got information about a vulnerable person with a low threshold of violence, who had a converter to Islam, and who might be about to be radicalized. We made our own hypothesis, but without it being followed up in 2015, says Arne Christian Haugstøyl to Aftenposten.
He is the counter-terrorism chief in PST. He says that at that time they did not find anything that was part of PST’s mandate – that Bråthen posed a concrete threat. But they registered it as a potential radicalization.
Bråthen (37) is accused of having killed five people and injured three people in Kongsberg center on Wednesday night.
Haugstøyl points out that PST gets a lot of tips, and this tip about Bråthen acted can not be about plans to commit any kind of violence.
The following year, in 2016, this tip was registered in the police intelligence system.
– What did PST do with it then?
– We shared this with the police, Southeast police district. As far as I know, he was first registered with that concern with the police in 2016, says Haugstøyl.
Did not rate video as threatening
But then came new tips. It happened when Bråthen in December 2017 published and video on Facebook and Youtube. One version is in Norwegian, one version is in English:
“He I. I am a messenger. I come with a warning. Is that really what you want? And to all who want to make up for themselves, then the time has come. Testify that I am a Muslim . »
– In 2017, he posted a video on Facebook and Youtube. Several tips came in to the police about this video, says Haugstøyl to Aftenposten.
PST then assesses that declaring in the video does not contain any criminal threats.
– He is not explicitly threatening in the video.
– But some may perceive it as threatening?
– Yes, it is understandable, But a legal assessment was made, and statements do not fall under anything criminal. It has not been aimed at specific individuals.
– Who made that assessment?
– Both the police and PST have rated it so that it was non-specific and not punishable. We had a dialogue with the police.
The video was released at a time when the West had witnessed a series of terrorist attacks carried out by extreme Muslims. Among others in Madrid, London, Copenhagen, Brussels, Glasgow, Frankfurt, Berlin, Manchester, Lyon, Toulouse, Barcelona, Stockholm, Paris and Nice.
Concerns talk after videos
But the video still makes PST think that the police should conduct a concern interview with Bråthen. It was done on December 19, 2017, the day after the video was released. It is the police in Kongsberg who take that conversation with the men now charged with murder.
– What happened during that conversation?
– He was confronted with the video. He says he understands that it can be perceived as threatening, he points out that he was carried away, but that he can not think of it as a threat. He provides an adequate forklift.
– What else did he say?
– His idea was to come up with a message of peace. He appears to be somewhat remorseful. There is nothing to indicate that it is intended as an important threat, says Haugstøyl.
PST assessment: Can perform low-scale attacks
He adds that it is still PST’s assessment of Bråthen that he eventually has reactions that make him assess him as mentally unstable and mentally ill. DPS in Kongsberg will be notified of Bråthen in early January 2018, according to Haugstøyl.
– at the same time, Haugstøyl points out, the police and new assessment of his intention and capacity, based on the video, conversations and we have had history of him.
– I assess, we conclude that we believe that it is a little likely that he will carry out a politically motivated terrorist act in Norway.
– But, given his mental health and low threshold for the use of violence, it may be better that it is still possible that he can carry out a low-scale attack with simple means.
– It’s a special kind of terrorist attack?
– Yes, but it is important to nuance. We judged that he was not driven by religion or ideology, but by mental illness.
He does not describe that PST is not left with such information, but that they share with other agencies such as the health service.
– Our assessment is that he is not an extreme Islamist, but a sick person. That was our assessment in 2018, and it is still our assessment, says the counter-terrorism chief.
He points out that it had been information on Bråthen can be dangerous and pose and societal problems, but that from 2018 it is not something that strengthens the suspicion of a person who is politically motivated.
PST must prevent politically, ideologically and religiously motivated violence. Haugstøyl says that this is not an attempt to explain away the tragedy that has happened at Kongsberg.
Five people killed
It was around 6pm on Wednesday night that the police received reports that a person was walking around and shooting people with a bow and arrow at a Coop store in Kongsberg center.
Bråthen was later arrested and charged with having killed five and physically injured three people. He attacked people with bows and arrows and other weapons, but not other firearms.
Bråthen has acknowledged the facts, but he does not admit criminal guilt. Police said Friday that the charge may be extended because he may also have more people. They were not hit, but they fled for their lives.
The Police Directorate announces evaluation
The Norwegian Police Directorate will evaluate the police’s handling of the Kongsberg attack. Both what happened during the incident and how the many tips about him could be handled in advance. The police in the South-East have themselves asked for an evaluation.
Given the seriousness of the matter, it is very important to learn point and possible weaknesses and misidentifiers quickly in order to take action immediately. By evaluating together, we believe that the learning effect will be even greater, says police director Benedicte Bjørnland and PST chief Hans Sverre Sjøvold in a joint statement.
The special unit for police matters has also been notified and must independently investigate the police investigation.
During the incident itself, it was primarily between the perpetrator and the police before he could get away. Probably all five victims were killed after this first meeting with the police.