In Oslo Cathedral, the altar is decorated with rainbow flags on Sunday.

People have come to commemorate the victims of the attack on Saturday morning, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is there and so is Crown Princess Mette-Marit.

Dean Anne-May Grasaas says that a rainbow mass was celebrated here in the cathedral on Friday.

Matthias Wysuwa

Political correspondent for northern Germany and Scandinavia based in Hamburg.

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One celebrated that one had the freedom to love those one wanted to love, she quoted the Norwegian radio.

On Sunday, just two days later, the contrast is big.

"Today our thoughts are with all those affected and all queer people who live in fear," she says.

They had gathered in grief, desperation and powerlessness.

Two dead and 21 injured

A good day after a suspected Islamist attack in the Norwegian capital, the shock is deep.

Two men died, one in his fifties and one in his sixties.

21 people were injured.

And the suspected perpetrator had long been known to the security services, which is likely to keep the country busy for a long time.

When 77 people were killed in a right-wing extremist terrorist attack in Oslo and on the island of Utøya in 2011, there were soon intensive discussions about possible mistakes made by the Norwegian security authorities in addition to the grief.

It was 1:14 a.m. Saturday morning when police first received reports of gunfire downtown.

They fell in front of the "London Pub", a club popular in the gay scene, and in the surrounding area.

A few minutes later, with the help of passers-by, the police were able to overpower and arrest the suspect.

Two firearms were seized.

Images from the night show heavily armed police officers in front of barrier tapes.

On one, young people are embracing and one is waving the rainbow flag.

It was the night before the planned Pride parade in Oslo.

The parade was canceled a few hours after the fact.

The organizers said the police recommended it to them.

Nevertheless, on Saturday afternoon, thousands of people paraded through the streets of Oslo waving rainbow flags.

Many participants laid flowers in front of the crime scene.

The Norwegian security services had long published information about the alleged perpetrator.

42-year-old Zaniar M. has a Norwegian passport and Iranian roots.

He had come into conflict with the law early on, and had already been investigated for grievous bodily harm and drug possession.

The Norwegian domestic intelligence service PST said it had been under surveillance since 2015.

The act was classified as an Islamist terrorist attack, and the terror alert level in the country was raised from three to the highest level of five.

"Long history of violence and threats"

M. has a "long history of violence and threats," said the head of Norway's domestic intelligence service, Roger Berg.

He was observed because of his possible radicalization and because of his membership in an Islamist network.

He was only questioned by investigators in May.

However, they came to the conclusion that he had no "violent intentions".

The man is now being investigated for murder, attempted murder and terror.

M.'s mental health is also to be examined in order to clarify the culpability.

On Sunday, the police announced that two attempts to interrogate M. had failed so far.

He therefore tried to set guidelines for the interrogation: he only wanted to agree to the audio and video recording if everything was broadcast in full.

His defense attorney told Norwegian media that his client fears the police would otherwise manipulate his statements.

The police are still reluctant to give a motive for the crime.

She said it's still too early to commit.

A hate crime is a hypothesis, as is radical Islamism or a mental illness.

A combination of these is also conceivable, the police said.

The suspect's apartment was searched, phones confiscated and it is determined with whom M. had contacts and how close they were.

Norwegian media report that M. is said to have had contact with a well-known Islamist in the country.

Just over a week ago, he posted a burning rainbow flag on his Facebook page along with a quote in which he called for the murder of homosexuals.

Speaking in the cathedral on Sunday, Jonas Gahr Støre, the Prime Minister, said the shooting put an end to Saturday's Pride parade.

But she did not stop the fight against prejudice, discrimination and hatred.

He called on the people of Norway to distance themselves from extremism and warned of division, minorities should not be set against majorities.

"I would like to address all Muslims in Norway," he says.

"I know that many of you are afraid of being suspected after an act that is so far from your values." He wanted to tell them: "We are a community.

We stand together."