Man Drives Stolen Ambulance Into Family in Oslo, Injuring 2 Babies

An armed man stole an ambulance in Oslo on Oct. 22, injuring three people including two babies when he drove off and hit a family.

A damaged ambulance is seen crashed into a building after an incident in the center of Oslo on Oct. 22, 2019. Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB scanpix via AP

An armed man stole an ambulance in Oslo on Tuesday, Oct. 22, injuring five people including two babies when he drove off and hit a family, Norwegian police and hospital officials told Reuters.

The man was apprehended after police fired shots at the vehicle, although the suspect was not critically injured, the police said in a separate statement.

“Two babies were injured after the hijacked ambulance hit a family. They are twins, seven months old, they are being treated,” an Oslo University hospital spokesman told Reuters.

Public broadcaster NRK showed images of an ambulance driving in the Torshov neighborhood of Oslo while several gunshots rang out.

A damaged ambulance stands next to a building after an armed man who stole the vehicle was apprehended by police in Oslo, Norway on Oct. 22, 2019. NTB Scanpix/Stian Lysberg Solum via Reuters

Anders Bayer, a spokesman for Oslo University Hospital, confirmed three employees on the vehicle when it was stolen were unharmed. 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.

“We are in control of the ambulance that was stolen,” Oslo police tweeted.

“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 said.

An overturned car is seen on the road, after it was allegedly struck by an ambulance which was stolen by an armed man in Oslo, Norway on Oct. 22, 2019. NTB Scanpix/Hakon Mosvold Larsen via Reuters

Police declined to comment on whether the incident was being treated as a deliberate attack.

“An armed man stole an ambulance, drove away and hit some people. We got him now,” the police spokesman told Reuters.

Police are now looking for a woman in connection with the robbery of the ambulance, according to a tweet. She is around 165 centimeters tall with light skin and slightly curly brown hair, they said. She is wearing a black jacket and appears intoxicated.

The Aftenposten newspaper published a photo showing a man, wearing green trousers lying next to the vehicle surrounded by police officers. Another photo in the daily showed a handcuffed man, flanked by police, walking toward an ambulance stretcher.

A witness told the newspaper that he saw “the ambulance driving at high speed toward me ... and right behind a police car.”

“I heard several shots,” Omar Khatujev told Aftenposten.

A damaged ambulance is seen crashed into a building after an incident in the center of Oslo on Oct. 22, 2019. Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB scanpix via AP

By Lefteris Karagiannopoulos and Victoria Klesty

The Associated Press and The CNN Wire contributed to this report.