A 65-year-old man who tackled a gunman who stormed a mosque in Norway is being hailed as a hero.

Witnesses said Mohamed Rafiq restrained the terror suspect and held him down with another worshipper before police arrived, despite being injured in the struggle.

Mr Rafiq was among three people at the al-Noor Islamic Centre in Baerum on Saturday, when a man burst in with “two shotgun-like weapons and a pistol”.

The attacker, who was reportedly wearing a uniform and body armour, broke through a glass door to reach the place of worship, where people were preparing to celebrate the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha.

Speaking to press outside a nearby hotel on Sunday, Mr Rafiq said: “I’m thankful for all of the help and support I have received.”

Mohamed Rafiq, one of the members of the congregation who stopped the attacker at a mosque, in Sandvika on 11 August (Reuters)

He told how he held the gunman down while another worshipper, Mohamed Iqbal, hit him on the head.

Irfan Mushtaq, board member of the mosque, said that minutes before the shooting on Sunday afternoon around 15 people had been inside the building.

The suspect has been named as Philip Manshaus, a 21-year-old local man.

A post on an online messaging board suggested he was a far-right extremist inspired by the Christchurch, Poway and El Paso shooters

Police are investigating the shooting as a potential terror attack, and have arrested a local white man in his 20s on suspicion of attempted murder.

The same man is also accused of killing his 17-year-old stepsister, whose body was found at her home.

Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire Show all 16 1 /16 Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire Philip Manshaus, charged with murder and attempted act of terror, appears in court for his detention hearing. The 21-year-old Norwegian man is also alleged to have killed his teenage stepsister before targeting the Al-Noor Islamic Centre in the Oslo suburb of Baerum. EPA Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire The attacker, who was reportedly wearing a uniform and body armour, broke through a glass door to reach the place of worship, where people were preparing to celebrate the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha. NTB scanpix/Reuters Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire Worshipper, Mohammad Rafiq (right), 65, tackled the gunman who stormed the mosque. Witnesses said Mr Rafiq restrained the terror suspect and held him down with another worshipper before police arrived, despite being injured in the struggle. Speaking to press outside a nearby hotel on Sunday, he said: “I’m thankful for all of the help and support I have received.” He told how he held the gunman down while another worshipper, Mohamed Iqbal, hit him on the head. Reuters Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire A Norwegian police expert manipulates a robot in front of the al-Noor islamic center mosque NTB scanpix/AFP/Getty Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire Irfan Mushtaq, board member of the mosque, said that minutes before the shooting on Saturday afternoon around 15 people had been inside the building. NTB scanpix/Reuters Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire Following the attack on Saturday, police said Manshaus had hoped to kill with reports suggesting he had entered the building with at least two rifles and wearing body armour. Reuters Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire Manshaus' facial bruising is said to have been sustained in the desperate fight inside the mosque in which 65-year-old worshipper Mr Rafiq managed to disarm the assailant as he begun to fire his weapon. AP Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire Manshaus – who smiled during the hearing – did not speak in court but his lawyer Unni Fries (right) told reporters later that “he will use his right not to explain himself for now”. EPA Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire When officers later raided his nearby home, they found the body of his 17-year-old stepsister, who he is suspected of murdering beforehand. Reuters Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, beside Mohammad Rafiq (left) told media that they are trying to combat hate speech with a special action plan targeting education, as well as, elderly people with more extreme views towards Islam. NTB scanpix/Reuters Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire People gathered outside the Islamic Cultural Centre in Oslo to show solidarity with the Muslim community after Saturday's shooting NTB Scanpix/Reuters Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire In other developments on Monday, the head of Norway’s domestic security agency said officials had received a “vague” tip off a year ago about the suspect, but that it had not been sufficient to act because they were given no “concrete plans” of an attack. EPA Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire Hans Sverre Sjoevold, head of Norway’s PST agency, told a news conference that his organisation received many tips every day and that, in this case, the information “didn’t go in the direction of an imminent terror planning”. Reuters Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire Muslims from the Al-Noor mosque had to move prayer to a hotel on the first day of Eid al-Adha due to the shooting NTB scanpix/Reuters Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire The suspect’s lawyer declined to comment on Norwegian media speculation that Manshaus was inspired by New Zealand mosque terrorist attack where a gunman killed 51 people in March. NTB scanpix/AP Norway mosque shooting: Worshipper disarms gunman as he begun to fire Reports suggest that the would-be terrorist wrote online that he had been “chosen” by the Christchurch gunman to carry out his own atrocity. Prosecutors have now asked for him to be held on terror charges for four weeks. NTB scanpix/AP

“We’re investigating this as an attempt at carrying out an act of terrorism,” assistant chief of police Rune Skjold told a news conference on Sunday.

“We have uncovered extreme right-wing attitudes. The defendant has expressed opinions in which he praises [Norwegian fascist and Nazi collaborator] Quisling and is hostile towards immigration.”

Mr Skjold praised the “great courage” shown by Mr Rafiq and Mr Iqbal in restraining the gunman after several shots were fired, adding: “There is no doubt that their efforts prevented this from having entirely different consequences.”

The suspect remains in custody and is undergoing a psychiatric assessment, officials said.

The mosque earlier this year implemented extra security measures following the massacre of more than 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch.