Three youths detained after grenade blast in central Oslo

# Three youths detained after grenade blast in central Oslo

2025-09-23 - Norwegian police say they have detained three youths, including two 13-year-old boys, after grenades were thrown and exploded in central Oslo.

The incident took place near Oslomet university on Tuesday evening. Police heard an explosion, responded to the area and then carried out a controlled detonation of another hand grenade found at the scene. No one was injured, but the response prompted a public warning telling residents to stay away from windows and avoid the area while officers investigated.

Police believe the attack may fit a pattern they described as “violence as a service,” meaning the youths may have been acting on behalf of someone else. Police Commissioner Ida Melbo Øystese said investigators were working on the hypothesis that the suspects had taken on a violence-related assignment. Grete Lien Metlid, who leads intelligence and investigations for Oslo police, said the blast appeared to be directed at premises near the scene rather than at individuals.

The fact that two of the suspects are only 13 is itself central to the story. In Norway, that is below the age of criminal responsibility, so social services took charge of them. The police have not ruled out more arrests, which suggests they are still trying to identify who organized or ordered the attack.

The episode also reflects a broader criminal trend in Scandinavia, where gangs have increasingly used young people who are too young to be prosecuted in the usual way. The report says Norway has recently seen gang violence spill over from neighboring Sweden, where shootings and bombings have been a persistent problem. That cross-border dynamic has become a growing concern for law enforcement.

One of the 13-year-olds may have been paid 30,000 kroner, according to TV2, although that figure remains a media report rather than a police-confirmed fact in the supplied excerpt. What is confirmed is that only two of the three detained youths are directly linked to the explosion.

For Oslo residents, the immediate fear was handled quickly. The area was secured, a second explosive device was safely detonated, and the warning was lifted. But the wider concern is harder to contain: organized crime appears to be recruiting children for dangerous acts that exploit age limits in the justice system.

This case will likely be watched closely because it combines public safety, youth crime and the challenge of stopping outsourced violence before it reaches the street.