Norwegian, Philip Manshaus, was found guilty on terrorism and homicide charges on Thursday and has been sentenced to 21 years in prison. Manhaus had killed his stepsister and then stormed out of the house to a mosque in Oslo, where he opened fire celebrations, before having been overpowered.

He told a court that he regretted not having caused more damage. Prosecutor Johan Oeverberg said that Manshaus “has proven to be an extremely dangerous person.” The court rejected the defence’s argument that Manshaus was mentally unfit to stand trial.

Arab News reports that 22 year old Manshaus in 2019 shot his 17 year old stepsister four times with a hunting rifle, killing her, at their home in the suburb of Baerum, in Oslo. He then he drove to the al-Noor Islamic Centre mosque, where, armed with a hunting rifle and a shotgun, he fired several shots at the mosque’s glass doors. Three men preparing for Eid Al-Adha were present at the mosque, preparing it for Eid al Adha celebrations, none of whom were injured in the shooting. One man was, however, slightly injured in the process of overpowering Manshaus. Manshaus was overpowered by a 65-year-old retired Pakistani air force officer, Mohammad Rafiq, who pinned him down and managed to disarm him.

Manshaus confessed to the acts, calling them “emergency justice.” The BBC, meanwhile, reports that the attack at the mosque was treated as an act of far-right racist terror. The report added that police had found evidence Manshaus was inspired by Brenton Tarrant, who was responsible for the lethal attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in March 2019. Tarrant pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder.

Manshaus was also ordered to pay compensation to the victims’ relatives and legal fees of 100 000 krone ($10 600).

Umm Muhammed Umar