Police fire shots to stop armed man driving stolen ambulance in Oslo

An armed man who stole an ambulance and hit several people was arrested Tuesday in Oslo, Norway, local police said.

Officers fired shots to stop the stolen ambulance after it was hijacked at the scene of an accident, they said in a statement.

Among those injured were a woman and children in a stroller who were taken to hospital, as well as two others.

Police said they had no information to indicate that the incident was terror-related, but a major investigation was underway and no possibilities had been excluded.

In the statement, police said they had received reports of a traffic accident at Rosenhoff in Oslo, where a car had overturned.

Subsequent reports described a man leaving the scene on foot, and that he was in possession of a firearm which he aimed at people.

The man then stole the ambulance and drove off at high speed.

The vehicle was pursued by by officers who opened fire. Another ambulance and a police car were also used to stop the stolen vehicle, the statement said.

No-one was injured by the shots fired by the police.

Police were searching Tuesday afternoon for a woman in connection with the robbery of the ambulance, they said, and who witnesses reported as having been in the overturned car. She was described as around 156 centimeters tall with light skin and slightly curly brown hair, they said. She was wearing a black jacket and appeared intoxicated.

A spokesman for Oslo University hospital told Reuters that two babies were injured by the stolen ambulance.

“They are twins, seven months old, they are being treated,” said the spokesman at the time.

Two of the hospital’s ambulances were involved in the incident, he explained, adding that the hospital was able to track the stolen vehicle using its GPS system.

“One was hijacked by an armed person with a shotgun. Some minutes later one of our other ambulances managed to stop the hijacked vehicle by crashing into it. Then the police came after the crash and got him,” he added, according to the news agency.

The ambulance was stolen around 12.30 p.m. local time (6.30 a.m. ET) and police took control of the vehicle some 15 minutes later.