– One police officer fired nine shots with a pistol, and one police officer fired five shots with a machine gun. All the shots hit the deceased, says Thomas Arntsen, head of prosecution investigations in the Bureau. A man was shot and killed by the police after a hostage situation at an exit at the E39 Eiganestunnel in Stavanger one day in October last year. According to the police, a shootout ensued in which both the deceased, the hostage and a police officer were hit by shots. Today, the Bureau presents findings from the investigation. They receive help from Kripos, among other things. The Bureau is investigating the circumstances surrounding a man being declared dead as a result of the police’s actions in the line of duty. – The investigation shows that there were two police officers who fired shots at the incident. It is these two who have the status of suspect in the case, they write in the press release. Kripos and the Bureau of Police Affairs have carried out crime scene investigations. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news The weapon was designed for rubber bullets The purpose of the investigation is to find out what happened during the shootout, and whether anything criminal has happened on the part of the police. – It was a hostage drama that happened last night, that’s an apt description, said police chief Hans Vik in the Sør-West police district last autumn. Kripos has finished the technical investigations ordered by the Bureau after the incident. The case is now almost fully investigated. Among other things, the investigation has been about finding out how many shots were fired, and whether it was one or more police officers who fired the shots. The audio recording from the police liaison has also been part of the investigation. The man was shot 14 times, there were two police officers who fired, and the deceased man himself had a weapon designed for rubber bullets. – There are 14 shots that have hit the deceased. The family’s opinion is that the police should have considered milder interventions, says Vetle André Mitchell Jensen, legal counsel for the deceased’s family. The two police officers who fired shots have been given the status of suspect in the Bureau’s investigation. Photo: Øystein Otterdal – The deceased was in possession of a revolver designed to shoot cartridges with elastic rubber bullets. Five fired cartridge cases were found in the revolver, says Arntsen. The revolver requires a licence, considered a firearm according to the Arms Act, and not considered an air/airsoft weapon. The shots were fatal According to the autopsy report, several of the shots were fatal individually and/or in combination. – Toxicological examinations carried out in connection with the autopsy report indicate that the deceased was intoxicated at the time of the incident, says Arntsen. The deceased hostage-taker was in his 40s. The man was charged with threats against the police and should have appeared in court in December 2023. He was also previously convicted. The deceased got into a car and took the driver hostage after a traffic accident. Just before 10.30pm this evening, the police were called out following a report of a collision between two cars in Randaberg municipality. In one car there was an adult and three children. They did not appear to be seriously physically injured.
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