A man entered a gay nightclub in Oslo, Norway, pulled out a gun and started shooting indiscriminately, killing two people and wounding 21 others on the 24th. Nine days later, another shooting left three dead and four wounded in a mall in Copenhagen, in neighboring Denmark.
Such attacks are rare events in the Nordic countries and sparked the alert of authorities in both nations, seen as safe and with laws on access and possession of weapons considered strict.
After the attack in Oslo, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere highlighted that countries in the region are working to create safe communities that prevent mental illness and radicalization. “Each of us must take care of those around us and reach out to those who are now frightened.”
The concern is partly explained by the fact that Norway has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Europe. The country had 28.8 firearms for every 100 people in 2017, according to the most recent survey by the Small Arms Survey, a public safety organization. The figure is much lower than the US index, of 120.5/100 inhabitants, but well above that of England, of 4.6/100 inhabitants.
The amount of weapons can be explained, in part, by the strong tradition of the Nordic countries in the practice of hunting with the use of rifles and shotguns. And, given the low crime rate in the countries of the region, guidelines to restrict the purchase of arms are not urgent for parliamentarians.
Data from the organization Gun Policy, linked to the University of Sydney, Australia, show that Norway recorded only 31 homicides in the entire year 2020. In Denmark, there were 55 in the same period.
Katharina Krüsselmann, a researcher on gun violence in Europe at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, says that overall, there is a long-term decline in the number of firearm homicides on the continent. But with the internet, people learn more quickly about attacks in different locations and therefore feel less secure. “This helps explain the fact that people feel threatened despite being in countries that are considered safe,” she says..
A source of concern, on the other hand, are extremists and nationalists. The terror that the country experienced in 2011 still reverberates among Norwegians today, when a right-wing extremist killed 77 people at the government headquarters in Oslo and at a youth meeting on the island of Utoya. The tragedy sparked debates about further restrictions, but it wasn’t until last year, ten years later, that the country banned semi-automatic weapons.
According to Vinicius Rodrigues Vieira, professor of international relations at Faap and FGV, there is a relationship between extremist movements and economic crises, something identified in the Nordic countries since the 1970s, when the so-called first oil shock, in which Arab countries increased prices of the barrel by more than 400% against US support for Israel, has boosted far-right parties.
This movement gained strength again after the 2008 economic crisis and, later, with the intense flow of refugees to European countries from 2010 onwards. “We see the rise of a discourse that values political extremism, white nationalism and ideologies who flirt with neo-Nazism. The current economic situation encourages discourses in this sense”, says Vieira, recalling that in recent years extremists began to organize themselves more easily through social networks, recruiting new members.
The professor also recalls that, unlike what happens in other European nations, in the Nordic countries, some of which share borders with Russia, military service is mandatory. Thus, a significant portion of the population knows how to handle firearms, which, according to Vieira, opens space for actions by the so-called lone wolves, who prepare and commit violent acts alone.
No wonder, these countries have strict rules for access to weapons and carry out psychological monitoring of potential shooters. In Norway, anyone who wants to buy guns has to take mandatory shooting classes and go through a tedious licensing process. In Denmark, rules have been established on how to store weapons safely so that others cannot access them. Breaking these laws can lead to fines or imprisonment of up to two years.
Nordic countries have a relatively small population and, proportionally, receive a large influx of immigrants and refugees. Therefore, the implementation of public policies and the work of social integration are factors that help to explain the low number of cases of violence with weapons in the countries, says Rodrigo Reis, specialist in international relations and executive director of the Instituto Global Attitude, an NGO that advises organizations and governments in promoting international collaboration.
Social cohesion and trust in the police and local institutions are also pillars for low firearm-related death rates. In 2019, Norway and Denmark recorded 0.074 and 0.141 deaths caused by gun violence per 100,000 inhabitants – figures far from the USA (3.96) and Brazil (21.93), according to the IHME (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation). ), from the University of Washington.
Remember mass attacks in Norway and Denmark
Norway
24.jun.22 – Two people were killed and 21 injured in the attack on a gay bar in central Oslo and on nearby streets. Police investigate the act as Islamic extremist terrorism. The suspect, arrested, has a history of violence, threats and mental illness
13.Oct.21 – Five people were killed in an archery attack in the city of Kongsberg. The criminal was even monitored by the police, who feared his radicalization after converting to Islam.
10.Aug.19 -One person was injured in a shooting at a mosque. The gunman opened fire inside the Al-Noor Islamic Center near Oslo, the country’s capital. He was arrested
22.Jul.11 – The country experienced moments of terror in 2011, when right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people at government headquarters in Oslo and at a youth gathering on Utoya Island. Most of the victims were among the youth of the leftist Norwegian Labor Party. It was the worst massacre in the Nordic country since World War II.
Denmark
3.Jul.22 – Three people were shot dead and four others were seriously injured after an attack on a Copenhagen shopping mall. The shooter had a history of mental health issues, and police ruled out terrorist motivation.
14 and 15.Feb.15 – A gunman killed two people and wounded six police officers. The incident took place at a cultural center that hosted debates on freedom of expression and at a synagogue in downtown Copenhagen. The shooter was killed by the police
