Philip Manshaus Bio, Wiki

Philip Manshaus has been identified as the 21-year-old suspect in a terror attack on a mosque in Baerum, Norway, near Oslo, that wounded one person. He was taken down by members of the mosque before anyone else was shot, according to police.

The Baerum mosque shooting or Al-Noor Islamic Center shooting was an attack that occurred on 10 August 2019 at the Al-Noor Islamic Center mosque in Bærum, Norway, about 20 km from the capital city Oslo.

Philip Manshaus Background

According to a 2015 article about a literature campaign at the school, Philip Manshaus attended Oslo Waldorf School. Manshaus is a Baerum native and lived in a house he owned with another family member, Nettavisen reports. Police said Manshaus does not have a “criminal background.”

Philip Manshaus Baerum Mosque Shooting

Manshaus was reportedly wearing a uniform and helmet when he entered the mosque, shooting his way through the locked door. According to Norway’s TV2, Manshaus was armed with two shotgun-like weapons and a pistol when he entered the mosque. Police said that multiple weapons were found inside the mosque, and that they all belonged to the shooter, but did not specify what type of guns were used. Prayers had just ended, with only three elders remaining in the mosque.

A 65-year-old man was injured, but the shooter was restrained and soon arrested by police. The injured man, who pinned down the shooter and moved his weapons away, has been identified as Mohammad Rafiq, a Pakistani retired Air Force officer who had been living in Norway for two and a half years at the time of the attack. His injuries have been described as “minor”, and were not gunshot wounds.

The police were called at 16:07 local time.

Philip Manshaus Victims Inside the Mosque

There were only three elder members of the Al-Noor Islamic Center in Baerum inside the building when the attack occurred. The victim wounded in the shooting was 65. He is expected to survive. The three men inside the mosque were preparing for Sunday’s Eid-al-Adha celebration. According to CNN International, About a dozen people had been praying inside the mosque about 10 minutes before Manshaus arrived, but most had left before the attack began.

Philip Manshaus Killed His Sister Prior to the Attack

After the attack, a young woman was found dead in the shooter’s home. The woman was the shooter’s stepsister; he has also been preliminary charged with her murder.

Police have not said how Manshaus’ stepsister died. According to police, Manshaus has not been cooperating with investigators who have tried to question him.

Philip Manshaus Posted Anonymouse Messages Prior to The Attack

Manshaus posted on Endchan, an anonymous image posting message board similar to 4chan and 8chan, before the shooting.  His retrieved messages include telling people that “it’s my time, i was chosen by saint tarrant”, asking those he was messaging to “bump the race war thread irl”, and saying that “valhalla awaits”. Several intermediary messages had been removed. Valhalla is a hall in Norse mythology where those who have died in battle are welcomed. The messages are seen as praising the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings in March 2019. The Christchurch shootings were inspired by, among other things, the 22/7 attacks that happened in Norway in 2011, referring to the Christchurch attacker Brenton Tarrant as a saint. Police have also reported that the suspect has praised Vidkun Quisling, the Norwegian Nazi leader, online, and expressed anti-immigration beliefs.

Police Initially classidied the attack as low-priority

Nettavisen reports that when the members of the mosque called the police, the incident was initially classified as low-priority and the police would not respond; the men struggled to try to convey the situation to the operator.

There have also been claims that a user of an online forum had tried to notify the Norwegian police that he suspected an attack would happen three times, but that local police told him to call the FBI. Police say they are aware of this allegation, but that they are not aware of any such call.

Baerum Mosque Shooting Reaction

Authorities in Norway beefed up the security after the attack, as it occurred during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, with the Prime Minister, Erna Solberg raising the national security the following day. The Al-Noor Islamic Center had already added extra security after the Christchurch mosque shootings. According to local Norwegian media, the mosque said that security would be improved again.

The Norwegian Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, condemned the attack. Solberg and Abid Raja, a Liberal Norwegian politician, spoke together on the day of the attack, assuring the public that places of worship should be safe and calling for plans to break down Islamophobia in the country.