Saturday, July 23, 2011
Associated Press
SUNDVOLLEN, Norway
The man in the police uniform shouted for the campers to come closer. When they did, he killed them.
The gunman who killed at least 10 people at an island youth camp northwest of Oslo used his disguise to lure in his victims, then shot them twice to make sure they were dead, survivors said in the village of Sundvollen, where they were taken after the massacre.
“I saw many dead people,” said 15-year old Elise, whose father, Vidar Myhre, didn’t want her to disclose her last name. She just feet away from the gunman when he opened fire in the camp on Utoya island.
Elise said she had just come out from an information meeting in a nearby building when she heard gunshots. She saw a police officer and thought she was safe, but then he started shooting.
“He first shot people on the island. Afterward he started shooting people in the water,” she said.
Elise said she hid behind the same rock that the killer was standing on. “I could hear his breathing from the top of the rock,” she said.
She said it was impossible to say how many minutes passed while she was waiting for him to stop.
Survivors described a scene of sheer terror at the camp, which is organized by the youth wing of Norway’s ruling Labor party. Hundreds of young people were eagerly awaiting a speech the prime minister was to give there today.