Far-right Norwegian gunman jailed for 21 years after killing Chinese stepsister and attacking mosque
- Philip Manshaus killed Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen in their family home, and later said he believed she posed a risk to the family because of her ethnicity
- He then drove to a nearby Islamic centre and entered the building, firing several shots but hitting no one before being overpowered by a member of the group
A far-right Norwegian man was jailed for 21 years on Thursday for the racially motivated murder of his Chinese-born stepsister and attempting to kill worshippers in a mosque shooting spree.
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“He went in with the purpose of killing as many Muslims as possible,” judge Annika Lindstroem said.
Manshaus believed that “Europe is under attack from people of ethnic origin other than his own” and that “the white race is on the brink of extinction”.
The attack also drew comparisons with the massacre of 77 people by far-right mass killer Anders Behring Breivik in 2011 in Norway’s worst peacetime atrocity.
Manshaus wore a helmet camera, filming the mosque shooting, but failed in his attempt to broadcast the attack online.
In his first court hearing last August, Manshaus appeared with black eyes and bruises on his face and neck from the ensuing fight at the mosque.
The court rejected the defence’s plea to declare Manshaus insane, relying instead on a psychiatric evaluation which found him fit to stand trial.
The 21-year prison term, the steepest available for the first-degree murder and breach of anti-terrorism law, also contained a provision that his release can be put off indefinitely should he still be considered a threat to society.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
