Five teenagers with immigrant backgrounds have been charged following a brutal street robbery in Trondheim. While the victim was being punched and kicked as he lay on the ground, a witness filmed the incident. The witness now says that he was later threatened after reporting the case to the police.

“They threatened to smash my face in if I did not withdraw the report,” a witness tells Document.

A video that has circulated widely on social media in recent weeks shows a brutal act of violence in Trondheim.

The police have now confirmed to Document that the case is still being investigated as a robbery, and a witness says that he was later threatened after reporting the matter.

The incident took place in the Møllenberg district of Trondheim on Sunday, 10 May. A Norwegian man in his thirties was allegedly attacked by several individuals and robbed of a backpack.

“They all started laying into me. I do not know why; they came at me so suddenly,” the Norwegian man tells Adresseavisen.

The man states that he shouted for help, but no one intervened. He believes they targeted him because they assumed he was an easy target. However, he does not know why he in particular was the one who was attacked.

A witness filmed part of the incident. In the video, the victim can be seen being punched and kicked while lying on the ground. At one point, one of the attackers takes a run-up and jumps down towards the man while he lies defenceless.

You can watch the video yourself here:

The video has been widely shared on social media. At the same time, rumours emerged that the police had dropped the case.

Document therefore contacted the police to confirm its status.

Police Prosecutor Line Kvarsnes Jullumstrø states that the case is still under investigation.

“Among other things, interviews remain to be conducted in the case. Several individuals have been suspected in connection with the matter; for three of them, the case has been discontinued due to the state of the evidence. Two individuals retain the status of suspects. Those charged are in their teenage years. The police are still investigating the background to the incident, and the case has not been discontinued,” she states.

The police also confirm to Document that the case is being investigated as a robbery.

According to the information available, the injured party was deprived of a backpack during the incident.

A witness who has been in contact with Document says that he was later threatened after reporting the matter.

“They threatened to smash my face in if I did not withdraw the report,” he says.

The witness explains that he later encountered several of those involved in central Trondheim and confronted them with the video recording.

“After my friend was attacked, I ran into them in town. I showed them the video and asked whether it was them. They then became aggressive and started pushing me around.”

He says that the situation escalated rapidly.

“I grabbed one of them and said: ‘Do not get up in my face.’ Then he took out his phone and called someone. Shortly afterwards, three people came around the corner. They had a knife and tried to get me to go down a side alley with them,” he says.

A total of five teenagers have been charged in the case. Proceedings against three of them have been discontinued due to the state of the evidence. Two individuals still retain the status of suspects.

Document is aware of the identities of those involved. The accused have backgrounds from countries in North Africa and the Middle East.

In the wake of the widely publicised violence case in Bergen on 17 May, several violence videos have been widely circulated on social media. This has led to increased attention being directed towards youth violence and robberies committed by youth gangs.

At the same time, the police warn against sharing such recordings.

“As a general matter, the police view the sharing of violence videos seriously. It may have consequences for those who share them, given that it may constitute a criminal offence. In addition, it may harm the police investigation of the individual case. The sharing of violent incidents may also be experienced as a further violation by those involved,” says Police Prosecutor Kvarsnes Jullumstrø.

The police do not wish to disclose whether the accused have previous criminal records.