If this tragedy hasn't fully settled in for some people, here are some excerpts from survivors translated by my friend from Norway.
I'm gonna translate some excerpts from stories told by the survivors of the shootings. I'm not gonna translate their whole stories cause most of them are several pages long. But hopefully, it sheds some light for some of you how grusome this was for them. The shootings took place for over an hour before cops could mobilize and get over to the island due to being diverted by the bomb first, and during this hour, the youths on the island were hunted like wild game.
-The perpetrator shot fallen people in the head to ensure they were dead. He took no chances in leaving any behind. Many were shot several times.
Dana Barzingi
-It looked like he wanted to kill absolutely everyone, no one was to be spared. ...I was shot several times, my leg was covered in blood. We ran to the waterside and did everything to stay alive. I jumped into the water, I can't swim but I held onto some rocks. Around me were 20 dead bodies.
Hussein Kazemi
-We were 20-30 people in my group when he started shooting. When he was done, there was only 5 left. We hid in a small cave by the water side. Many of us were fatally wounded, but none of us dared to move.
Thorbjørn Vereide (22)
I was standing in the main hall when panic erupted. I heard gunshots, I saw him shoot. Everyone started running. The first thing that came to mind was: "Why is the police shooting at us, what the fuck?!". I ran into the lounge. People ran, screamed. I was scared. I managed to get myself into a room in the far back of the building. Many of us were in there. We were all on the floor. We heard several shots. I started crying, unable to understand. I saw my best friend outside through the window and contemplated running out to get him. I didn't make it in time....I saw the fear in his eyes...
-Prableen Kaur (22)
-First thing he did was to shoot the first cute girl he saw. I hid by the water for 45 minutes, but we saw no end in sight, so we started swimming in hope to make it onto the mainland. Our clothes got too heavy though, and we had to turn back before drowning in the cold water. We found a small cave along the side of the island. At one point the shooter passed by us, he was throwing rocks into the water to fish us out, and then shoot us.
Marius Helander Røset
-I was a few feet away from him, on the ground pretending I was dead. He was screaming that we were all gonna die. ...He came closer, I could hear him breathing, i could see his boots. He eventually left and we jumped into the water. I had serious doubts I would survive. Looking back, I saw the shooter return and shoot several more where we had just escaped. I was hit in the shoulder, but it's not the physical pain that is the worst. Of course it hurts to get shot at, but it is much more painful to lose my friends.
An 11 year old boy came and told me that his dad was dead and ran away in panic. The situation was so chaotic that the kid could just not hide and take cover. Then I saw the shooter spot the child and run towards him. The kid screamed at the shooter «Don't shoot me, you already shot enough. You killed my dad, I'm too young to die.»
Adrian Pracon (21)
-I walked along the waterside that I saw someone laying there. I walked over as I looked up and prayed to God. I lifted the wounded up. I laid him down, took his hat off, it was my good friend. I saw the bullet in his head. I couldn't react to it, all i could was kiss hinm on the cheek and walk back to my hiding place. ...I began to swim, I heard people shouting that they are panicking. "Keep your head above water, swim, BREATH!" I shouted at them. I began to back stroke to save energy, I saw the island, I saw him... He was wearing a police uniform, blonde hair, white skin, I saw his police cap and I saw his weapon. He noticed us in the water, took aim and started shooting. A person in front of me was hit, blood began to flow out, all I could do was swim faster.
Emma Martinovic (18)
"The man with the gun was running behind us, chasing us, he hunted us all down."
Lisa-Marie Husby (19)
-I got far enough away from the island that I felt safe he couldn't hit me. I looked back, and there I saw several of my friends being slaughtered with my own eyes.
Mette Valle
Hopefully for those of you that just read this casually, you'll realize the horror of it all.