2022 Oslo shooting

On 25 June 2022, two people were killed and twenty-one people were wounded in a mass shooting in Oslo, Norway. Police are treating the incident as an "act of Islamist terrorism". The target may have been the Oslo LGBTQ pride event, which was hosted by the local branch of the Norwegian Organisation for Sexual and Gender Diversity.

At a press conference on 25 June 2022, the police said that they believe the attack could be motivated by anti-LGBT hate, and be intended to target Oslo Pride. Norway has seen sustained attacks against the LGBT community and the Pride event from anti-LGBT extremists on social media. Scholar Janne Bromseth [no] said that the attack took place in the context of attacks on LGBT minorities and rights by the anti-gender movement in Norway. The head of the Norwegian government's Extremism Commission, Cathrine Thorleifsson, as well as Amnesty International, linked the attack to a pattern of increased attacks on LGBT+ people in Norway and Europe, both on extremist online forums and open social media platforms.

According to the public broadcaster NRK, Matapour has been in contact with Arfan Bhatti, an Islamist extremist with several violence convictions. On 14 June, Bhatti, who has also been represented by Elden in the past, posted a burning rainbow flag with a caption calling for the killing of LGBT+ people on Facebook. Bhatti is a leading figure in Profetens Ummah, which has recruited people for Islamic State. Verdens Gang reported that Matapour had been stopped by police in April when he was in the same car as Bhatti. The police later confirmed that they had known of the suspect since 2015, believing that he had been radicalised into Islamic extremism.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called the shooting a "terrible attack on innocent people", and expressed solidarity with the LGBT community. He added that the fight against hate was not over, but that it could be overcome together. Støre reiterated that while the perpetrator had Islamist motivations, the attack was the fault of an individual and not Norway's Muslim community. In his speech on the anniversary of the 2011 Norway attacks, the Prime Minister said that "we know that queer people are the targets of hate, threats and violence. The incitement of hate is especially virulent against trans people. We will not accept this in Norway. We will use the memory of 22 July, in respect for those we lost, to turn our backs on this hate." Støre also called on moderate Muslims to call out homophobic and transphobic attitudes and actions.

Police arrested Zaniar Matapour, a Norwegian citizen from Sanandaj, Iran, who lived in Norway since 1991. They later confirmed that they had known of Matapour since 2015, saying that he had been radicalized into Islamic extremism. They also said he had a "history of violence and threats", as well as mental health issues. He has been charged with murder, attempted murder, and terrorism.

The suspect was identified as 42-year-old Norwegian Iranian Zaniar Matapour (born June 27, 1979), who moved from Iran to Norway in 1991 when he was 12. He has been charged with murder, attempted murder, and acts of terrorism. It is still unknown whether Matapour had accomplices.