A video has been widely circulated on TikTok in recent days.
In the video, which was filmed in Sarpsborg last Saturday, you can see a man making arm movements inside a restaurant, so that it looks like he is shooting in the air at those who are filming.
TV 2 has been in contact with both the group of friends who filmed and the man shown in the video. The group of friends were on their way to Oslo to mark Pride after the shooting on Saturday night and set the Pride flag.
Disagree on what happened
The parties disagree about the course of events and the conflict that arose between them: While the group of friends say that the man made hateful remarks against them and the Pride movement, the man rejects this.
He says he fired at his group of friends because he was provoked.
– INVESTIGATING THE CASE: Daniel Holm, section leader for investigation in Sarpsborg Photo: The police
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The incident and the video are now being investigated by the Eastern Police District.
– We have received a report that we have initiated ourselves, and we have opened a criminal case, says Daniel Holm, who is section leader for investigation in Sarpsborg.
– We are now investigating what the incident actually consisted of, what was the case of hate speech and whether there have been any threats, says Holm, and adds that the man is known to the police from before.
– SARPSBORG: The group of friends says that the unpleasant incident happened at a restaurant in Sarpsborg on Saturday. Photo: Tom Rune Orset / TV 2
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Hail in the comments field
It is the comment field on the video in question that attracts particular attention.
In it, many praise what they perceive as hateful behavior from the man towards the queer.
In the comments field, the man who makes the shooting movement is praised:
– LEGEND: The man who made the shooting moves is hailed in the comments section during the video on social media. Photo: Screenshot Tiktok
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Has spread
The online patrol in the South-West police district was eventually also notified of the video and the hateful comment field.
– We were tagged in this video a number of times on Tiktok and then became aware that the Eastern police district had opened a criminal case, says Kaare André Ødegaard, senior officer and subject leader for the net patrol South-West.
He says that the video has been spread on several social media platforms.
The man in the video tells TV 2 that he distances himself from the comments.
– I think the comments that have appeared on the video are reprehensible. I offer my condolences to everyone who has lost someone to something like this and strongly dissociate themselves from it, he says.
The perpetrator is hailed
Ødegaard in the police’s online patrol says that terror suspect Zaniar Matapour is also being hailed on social media after Saturday’s mass shooting in Oslo.
On the night of Saturday 25 June, two people were killed and 21 injured after the mass shooting at the nightclub London pub and Per on the corner in central Oslo.
Matapour is charged with murder, attempted murder and terror after the incident.
– The comment fields are largely influenced by the news picture, and we see that the Pride community is now allowed to review. Now the perpetrator from Saturday’s attack is being hailed in several places on social media, says Ødegaard.
– ACCUSED: Zaniar Matapour is charged with murder, attempted murder and terror after the mass shooting in Oslo. Photo: Police
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– More and more serious cases
He believes there is one platform that is particularly marked by hateful comments.
– Tiktok can be a fairly toxic platform in the sense that the comment fields are open, you comment anonymously and the content can reach many people quickly, says Ødegaard.
The chief police officer believes that the tendency is for the comments to become increasingly serious and need follow-up by the police.
– There are large quantities and it is difficult for us to have an overview of everything, but we are tagged in around 100 posts a week and follow up on everything, says Ødegaard.
He points out that people should know that when you are exposed to hatred on social media, the police are there to help.
– It’s not good just because it happens in a comment field. I recommend everyone to contact us when you are exposed to cyberbullying or threats online.
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