Utøya Survivor on Norway’s Deadliest Terror Attack: “He Raised His Gun and Fired at Me”

The Growth Time Machine with Daniel Curtis · Aug 28, 2026 · 1h 12m

On 22 July 2011, Bjørn Ihler was attending the Norwegian Labour Youth Party’s summer camp on the island of Utøya when his life—and Norway itself—changed forever.

Bjørn had grown up near Oslo in a multicultural community, playing the violin, snowboarding and practising martial arts. He later moved to Liverpool to study performing arts design, technology and production at LIPA. Returning to Norway during his summer break in 2011, he travelled to Utøya to reconnect with friends.

Earlier that day, a bomb had exploded outside government buildings in Oslo. Then Bjørn began hearing what he initially…