Belarusian man threw a firebomb at the Palace – a member of the royal family was present

– It is a Belarusian citizen and he is wanted in the Netherlands. He is charged with particularly serious damage. He has been arrested, an attempt will be made to carry out an interrogation during the next few hours, and an assessment will then be made as to whether it is appropriate to take him into custody, says Detective Chief Ole Magnus Danielsen to NTB.

The police do not know the motive for the incident, and have not been able to question him because they need an interpreter, task leader Anders Rønning told the press earlier on Monday followingnoon.

– We take this very seriously because someone makes a bomb threat and chooses to go towards the Castle with a flammable bag, Rønning said.

The police consider this to be an isolated incident that does not change the threat level, writes Oslo police district i the police log.

A member of the royal family was present

A member of the royal family was present at the Palace during the incident, Guri Varpe, communications manager at the Palace, reports NRK.

– Neither the royal couple nor the crown prince’s family were present, says Varpe.

The man was in an electric wheelchair and threw two Molotov cocktails at the Palace in Oslo on Monday followingnoon. The police received a report regarding the incident at 1.11pm.

The man has been carrying several bottles, and the police believe there is flammable liquid in these as well. A bomb squad will investigate this further.

Thrown firebombs

A witness told the police that he had been contacted by the man who said he had a bomb. After that, the man is said to have gone to the back of the castle, where he threw the two firebombs at a door.

There were some flames on the outside of the wall, but this has been extinguished. The injuries are minor, the police say. There is soot and smoke damage, and a window has been broken, the police say.

The police are now working to interview witnesses. Rønning says that there were several witnesses at the scene who disappeared from the scene. He asks people to get in touch if they have seen anything.