A 22-year-old Dane was arrested. Prime Minister Frederiksen condemned the crime.
At least three people were shot dead in the bloody crime in a shopping center in Copenhagen. The victims are a man between the ages of 40 and 50 and two young people, police chief inspector Søren Thomassen said on Monday night in the Danish capital, according to local media. Three other people were seriously injured and in critical condition.
Thomassen did not provide any information about the possible motive. There is speculation about a racist background on social media, he said. There is currently no evidence for this.
Alleged perpetrator known to the police
The police arrested a 22-year-old Dane in connection with the crime. The suspected shooter was “basically known” to the police, said Thomassen. He did not provide any further information on this. Police believe the perpetrator acted alone. “Until we are absolutely certain that the hypothesis is correct, we will conduct a wide-ranging investigation and maintain a massive operational presence in Copenhagen until we can say he was alone,” Thomassen said. The man had a gun and ammunition with him when he was arrested. Another weapon may have been involved.
The arrested person is to be questioned today, it was said. He will be charged with manslaughter. But the allegation could still change. The police initially did not want to say whether the man was a member of a rifle club and whether he legally owned the gun.
Frederiksen condemns attack
The Danish royal family called for cohesion. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen condemned the act as a “cruel attack”. “We were all brutally ripped out of the bright summer we had just begun,” said Fredriksen. “It’s incomprehensible. Heartbreaking. Pointless. Our beautiful and otherwise safe capital city has been transformed in a split second.”
The head of government thanked the police and rescue workers and everyone who was willing to help for their efforts. According to the police, several people were killed by gunshots in the shopping center in Copenhagen. In addition, there are many injured, said a spokesman at a press conference. He did not give any more details. The previous information is associated with uncertainty, it is a kind of chaos phase.
Eyewitnesses report chaotic scenes
When the first shots were fired, more than a hundred people ran out of the shopping center, Danish media reported, citing eyewitnesses. One photograph showed a man being placed on a stretcher. Eyewitnesses reported that people were hiding in the mall’s stores.
One of them told broadcaster DR that he heard three or four very loud bangs while he was in a store with his family. Then other people ran into the store and reported shots, after which he and his family fled through an emergency exit, the man said. The police called on eyewitnesses to provide video and photo material.
Mayor: “It’s very serious”
Copenhagen’s Mayor Sophie H. Andersen was appalled by the incident. It was “terrible,” she tweeted. The city is in close contact with the police and is ready to help.
The Fields shopping center is located in the Amager district between the center of the Danish capital and the airport. In the neighborhood is the Royal Arena, where a concert by musician Harry Styles was supposed to take place. According to Danish media, however, it was canceled.
Several thousand fans were initially allowed into the hall and waited there. The television station TV2 reported that the fans in the hall had been told that the concert would not take place for security reasons. The fans were asked to leave the hall calmly.
