UPDATED: Police in Rogaland, western Norway, had one man in custody on Thursday, had arrested another by Friday and were seeking two others as well in the death of a teenager at the Dale Asylum Center Wednesday night. The teenage boy from Iran died after being stabbed in the chest.
Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that several residents of the asylum center near Sandnes, south of Stavanger, were taking part in an evening football match when a quarrel broke out among them. Police said later on Thursday, though, that neither the teenage asylum seeker nor his alleged attacker lived at the asylum center. One witness told NRK the reported quarrel was over drinking water.
Those involved were of several different nationalities and the first man arrested is a citizen of Russia. A 17-year-old boy was in custody as well on Friday and both of them, as well as the two sought, are Chechnyans.
The situation at the asylum center immediately following the stabbing was described as “very dramatic” with “a lot of blood and a lot of screaming,” according to one witness. A photographer at the scene told NRK the victim was driven up to the main building of the center at high speed in a private car with flashing lights. He was taken from there by ambulance to Stavanger University Hospital, where doctors were unable to save his life.
Police were also facing challenges in piecing together the sequence of events that led to the stabbing, because so many people of various nationalities were at the scene.
“One of our residents alerted us around 10pm that there was an injured person in the area,” Bente Dalåker, regional leader for the firm that runs the asylum center. She said police were called “immediately.”
Police confirmed that those involved in the stabbing were from Chechnya, but couldn’t say whether the incident was tied to other conflicts among those from the troubled region. Reports later emerged that the victim was from Iran.
Police announced Thursday morning that they had arrested and charged a Russian man in his early 20s with inflicting bodily injury that led to death. Henriette Kvinnsland of the Rogaland Police District told NRK that others may be charged in the case as well, as the investigation continues.
Views and News from Norway/Nina Berglund
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