A NORWEGIAN suspected of killing his stepsister and opening fire at a mosque near Oslo is suspected of a terrorist act and murder, police said Monday.

The man, identified by media as 21-year-old Philip Manshaus, is formally suspected of murder in the death of his 17-year-old stepsister, and of a “terrorist act” at the Al-Noor mosque Saturday, police said in a statement.

In Norway, being formally named as a suspect is a step prior to indictment.

At a detention hearing held behind closed doors later Monday, police asked the court to place the suspect in isolation for four weeks.

The suspect’s lawyer, Unni Fries, said her client rejects the allegations.

The suspect is accused of entering the mosque in the affluent Oslo suburb of Baerum armed with at least two weapons and opening fire before being overpowered by a 65-year-old man who suffered minor injuries.

Hours after the attack, the body of a young woman was found in a home in Baerum, and police Sunday confirmed she was the suspect’s 17-year-old stepsister.

According to local media, she was of Chinese origin and had been adopted by the companion of the suspect’s father.

Oslo’s acting chief of the police operation Rune Skjold said Sunday the investigation showed that the suspect appeared to hold “far-right” and “anti-immigrant” views.

Shortly before the mosque attack, a person identifying himself as Philip Manshaus had posted a message on the EndChan forum calling on readers to move a “race war” off the Web and into real life.

The author said he was selected by “saint tarrant,” an apparent reference to the New Zealand mosque attack suspect Brenton Tarrant, who is accused of killing 51 people in attacks on two mosques in Christchurch in March.

The shooting follows a rise in white supremacist attacks, including the recent El Paso massacre in the United States.

The Oslo attack took place on the eve of the Islamic celebration of Eid Al-Adha, marking the end of the Hajj pilgrimage, stoking fears among Norway’s Muslims.

(SD-Agencies)