A man has been charged with attempted murder after a stolen ambulance crashed into a family in the Norwegian capital Oslo, injuring three people – including twin babies.

Public broadcaster NRK showed images of the ambulance driving through the city as gunshots were apparently fired from inside the vehicle.

The alleged hijacker sustained gunshot wounds after police returned fire.

A woman has been charged with illegal possession of a firearm.

A motive for the attack has yet to be established although police are investigating possible links with far-right extremists.

What happened?

Police say a man stole the ambulance on Tuesday afternoon and drove it at pedestrians in the capital.

“We have taken control of an ambulance that was stolen by an armed man,” Oslo police said on Twitter.

“Shots were fired to arrest the suspect, he is not seriously injured,” they added.

“A woman with a pram and an elderly couple were run over or had to throw themselves out of the way” of the stolen vehicle, police said in another Twitter post.

An Oslo University hospital spokesman told the Reuters news agency that seven-month-old twins were injured.

The spokesman said the stolen ambulance belonged to the hospital, and that a second ambulance had been used to stop the hijacked vehicle by crashing into it.

An Oslo police spokeswoman told the BBC that the man was aged 32 and the woman was 25.

The woman was arrested at a nearby shopping centre, she said.