Location Farsund, Norway Attack type Shooting incident Deaths 4 | Date August 1988 Weapons Shotgun Non-fatal injuries 2 | |
The Farsund shooting was a fatal shooting incident that took place at a shooting range in Farsund, Norway in August 1988. Four people were shot and killed with a shotgun, and two more were injured. Two of those killed were paramedics who arrived at the scene some time after the first shootings.
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Perpetrator and victims
The perpetrator was identified as a 23-year-old man with a mental disorder. No obvious motives were behind the killings. He was described as a weapon-interested "lone wolf", and is described as having owned a large number of weapons. He used slugs and buckshot during the shooting, a type of ammunition that is banned in Norway. In 1989, the offender, who was considered insane when committing the shooting, was sentenced to ten years of involuntary commitment at a psychiatric institution. The doctors that were used in the trial stated that he had suffered from schizophrenia since his early teenage years. In 1999, he was sentenced to an additional five years of involuntary commitment.
Those killed were Per Odd Reite, 42; Bjørn Halvorsen, 22; Gunnar Eliassen, 31; and Geir Olav Lundtræ, 24 (the latter two were paramedics). Kjell Stillufsen and Gunnar Gabrielsen escaped the shooting with minor injuries.
Aftermath
One of the incident's repercussions was that ambulance personnel were subsequently equipped with radios while they were in the field. The killings also helped to uncover lacks in the security equipment the Norwegian police used, and in particular the small number of bulletproof vests that were available to local police. Studies showed that there was just one bulletproof vest available per local policestation (Norwegian:Lensmannskontor; similar to sheriff's office) in 1988. The debate that arose led to the Justice Department acquiring 800 new vests during the fall that were sent to smaller police stations all over the country.
Furthermore, the incident changed the practice for how health professionals should proceed in similar situations. For instance, ambulance workers should not be sent out to a venue before the area has been secured by police.