From PEOPLE Magazine Click to enlarge
For the 600 Norwegian youths gathered on Utoya island for five days of fun, sun and lively political debate, the first shock on July 22 came when they were told a bomb had just exploded in Oslo outside the building that houses the prime minister's office. As the campers, mostly teens affiliated with the Labor Party, digested the distressing news, "we thought Utoya was the safest place to be," Ingvild Stensrud, 16, recalled. About 90 minutes later, a 6-ft.-tall blond man clad in a police uniform arrived on the island by boat, raised an assault rifle and opened fire. For more than an hour, say authorities, Anders Behring Breivik, 32, a rabidly conservative, anti-immigrant fanatic, plucked off the youths as nonchalantly as if they were apples from a tree. By the time a SWAT team arrested Breivik-who later confessed-Norway had endured its worst day of violence since WWII: At least 68 died at camp, 8 in the bombing.

MIRIAM EINANGSHAUG, 16

Student

When we heard four or five shots after the information meeting, we thought it was firecrackers and joked that this would be the worst practical joke ever on a day like this. Then someone said there was a policeman shooting and told us to run. I was behind the door in the schoolhouse, scared to death. A friend pulled me away, and we were told to lie down and shut up. One boy counted 80 shots till he gave up counting. We waited for the gunman to run out of ammo, but he changed guns. After, like, two hours, we heard voices, and he was ordered to surrender. I lost 15 to 20 friends. And two of the little kids who make money gathering bottles on the island were shot.

MARKUS BROSE, 16

Student

I was in the camping area where we sleep. He walked very calmly from tent to tent and shot into each tent. As I ran into the woods, a bullet passed my head and hit a tree right next to me. At the water, I took off my clothes and threw myself into the [frigid] water in only my underwear. Several others were spread out in the water. When we were about 600 feet from the island, he shot at us. A good friend swam close by me, and we talked. If I was going to die, I would know who was the last person I talked with. When we got to the far shore, we were taken in an ambulance and I was allowed to call my parents.

INGVILD STENSRUD, 16

Student, shot in both thighs and one shoulder, as told to Dagbladet, a Norwegian daily

We heard the shots from the dock area coming closer. Shot. Shot. Shot. Before I was pushed into a corner in the little conference hall, I looked out the door and saw a boy [get] shot in the chest and fall down. It was like a film. First he shot a lot, then one shot at a time. The worst were the seconds when I heard him reloading. I was afraid to breathe. What saved me was that [after he shot me] he thought I was dead. I thought, I don't want to die, I don't want to die. At the same time, I was preparing myself to die. Seven of the 10 in the room were killed.

ADRIAN PRACON, 21

Youth party worker, shot in shoulder

I was in the main building when it started. I saw that man killing my friends. I fell to the floor and played dead. I heard his boots coming closer. He shot me. The bang was so loud that I was temporarily deafened in one ear. For a few minutes I could feel nothing-and I think this saved me. If I had moved, he would have killed me. He was amazingly calm. I watched as he slowly lifted up tent flaps and shot the people inside. At one point four people approached him, thinking he was a real policeman. I saw one of them say, "Thank you, you've come to help us." He shot all four of them. In Norway, we have lost our innocence. We can never be so trusting again.