NewsTracker Answers for week of Oct. 18, 2021

Q: A 37-year-old man was charged in a bow-and-arrow rampage last week that killed five people and wounded three others in a small town in Norway, which recorded only 31 murders last year. Where is Norway?

Circle the area on this map


Q: The attack took place in Kongsberg, a town of around 25,000 people that is about 50 miles southwest of Norway’s capital of ...

A. Copenhagen

B. Helsinki

C. Oslo

D. Stockholm


C. Oslo is the capital of Norway and its most populous city, with nearly 700,000 people. Police said the suspect was a Danish citizen who had lived in Kongsberg for several years. They also said he had converted to Islam and had become radicalized. He was undergoing a mental health evaluation.


Q: The suspect shot arrows at the unarmed police who first confronted him. He escaped and killed five at random before he was captured. Most Norwegian police do not usually carry guns. Police do not ordinarily carry guns on patrol in what other nation?

A. Botswana

B. Britain

C. New Zealand

D. All of the above


D. In all, 19 nations do not normally arm their police with guns. The United States arms about 900,000 law enforcement officers who deal with a population that owns well over 300 million weapons, nearly half of the world’s civilian-owned guns.


Q: While Norway’s 5.3 million people suffered 31 murders last year, 549 of South Carolina’s 5.1 million residents were murdered in 2020. Norway has one of the world’s lowest homicide rates. What nation has the highest number of homicides per 100,000 people?

A. El Salvador

B. India

C. Kenya

D. United States


A. Out of every 100,000 people in El Salvador, 52.02 are murder victims compared with 0.47 in Norway, according to information compiled by the United Nations. India, Kenya and United States are all below the worldwide average of 6.1 homicides for every 100,000 people.


Q: Last week’s attack was the worst mass killing in Norway since 2011, when extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people, most of them teenagers at a camp. Who did Breivick rage against during his trial?

A. Christians

B. Muslims

C. Police

D. Teenagers


B. During his trial, Breivick was given ample time to speak of his anti-Muslim, anti-multicultural political views, which included a rant about the “deconstruction” of Norway at the hands of “cultural Marxists.” He was sentenced to Norway’s maximum of 21 years in prison, although he could remain imprisoned if he is considered a threat.