OSLO -- Police arrived at an island massacre about an hour and a half after a gunman first opened fire, slowed because they didn't have quick access to a helicopter and then couldn't find a boat to make their way to the scene just several hundred yards offshore.

The assailant surrendered when police finally reached him, but 82 people died before that.

A police briefing Saturday detailed for the first time how long the terror lasted -- and how long victims waited for help.

The shooting came on the heels of what police told The Associated Press was an "Oklahoma city-type" bombing in Oslo's downtown: It targeted a government building, was allegedly perpetrated by a homegrown assailant and used the same mix of fertilizer and fuel that blew up a federal building in the United States in 1995.

In all, at least 92 people were killed in the twin attacks that police are blaming on the same suspect, Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik, 32.

"He has confessed to the factual circumstances," Breivik's defense lawyer, Geir Lippestad, told public broadcaster NRK. Lippestad said his client had also made some comments about his motives. "He's said some things about that but I don't want to talk about it now," the lawyer told NRK.

Norwegian news agency NTB said the suspect wrote a 1,500-page manifesto before the attack in which he attacked multiculturalism and Muslim immigration. The manifesto also described how to acquire explosives, NTB said. Oslo police declined to comment on the report.

A SWAT team was dispatched to the island more than 50 minutes after people vacationing at a campground said they heard shooting across the lake, according to Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim. The drive to the lake took about 20 minutes, and once there, the team took another 20 minutes to find a boat.

Many of Norway's churches remained open all day Saturday as the nation grieved over the deaths police blamed on a killer from their own country.

Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV Credit: Newsday

After 47 years, affordable housing ... Let's Go: Williamsburg winter village ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV

Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV Credit: Newsday

After 47 years, affordable housing ... Let's Go: Williamsburg winter village ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV

SUBSCRIBE

Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months

ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME