Norway bow-and-arrow attack suspect to be held for 4 weeks initially

Candles and flowers are laid outside the Extra grocery store to honour the dead, after a man killed five people in the city on Wednesday night, in Kongsberg, Norway October 15, 2021. Terje Bendiksby/NTB/via REUTERS

The man suspected of killing five people in Norway with a bow and arrow and other weapons earlier this week can be held in custody for an initial four weeks while the probe continues, a court ruled on Friday, according to news agency NTB.

Espen Andersen Braathen, a 37-year-old Danish citizen who has lived for most of his life in Norway's Kongsberg municipality where the attacks took place, has acknowledged killing the victims, investigators have said.

Braathen is currently in the care of health services, police said. He will be subject to a psychiatric evaluation, his lawyer has said.

Espen Andersen Braathen, the suspect of a bow-and-arrow attack, which killed five people in a Norwegian town, is seen in this still image taken from a video. Espen Andersen Braathen via YouTube/NTB/via REUTERS

(Reporting by Victoria Klesty, writing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche)