Police In Iceland Kill a Man For the First Time In the Republic's History



Police in Iceland don’t normally carry weapons. That’s because violent crime in the country is almost non-existent. In fact, until 2013, no one had ever been killed by police since Iceland became an independent republic in 1944. On that fateful day in 2013, a man with a history of mental illness began shooting at police as they attempted to enter his apartment building. Teargas canisters had initially been fired through the windows, but the man continued shooting at officers. Police had no option but to fire back, with one of them shooting the man. The gunman was taken to the hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. The nation was in shock. That type of violence just doesn’t happen in Iceland. Although Iceland isn’t anti-gun, the nation doesn’t want its police force carrying weapons because it’s dangerous and threatening. The Icelandic police department said the officers involved would go through grief counseling, and the police department apologized to the family of the man who died. "A part of the great thing of living in this country is that you can enter parliament and the only thing they ask you to do is to turn off your cellphone,” said Thora Arnorsdottir, news editor for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. "We don't have armed guards following our prime minister or president. That's a part of the great thing of living in a peaceful society and we don't want to change that.”