The minister said that he favoured new gun controls in Denmark, in comments two months after the attack on the Copenhagen shopping centre in which three people were killed.
Tesfaye said that people with severe mental illness — as the Field’s shooter had previously been diagnosed with — shouldn’t be allowed to purchase high-powered guns.
“There are some legal challenges in simply giving the police access to the health data of all Danes,” he said in comments to broadcaster DR.
“But we are looking at whether warning bells could still ring at police stations if weapons come anywhere near people with severe mental disorders,” he said.
The suspected Field’s shooter was admitted to a secure psychiatric facility the day after the attack. He is held under suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
People with severe mental illnesses should not be able to acquire a rifle such as the weapon used by the suspect in the Field’s attack, Tesfaye said.
He also stressed that he did not seek to criminalise people who suffer with mental illnesses.
Reports emerged following the July shooting that the suspected gunman was known to psychiatric services in the Greater Copenhagen region. He was reported to have sought psychiatric help shortly before the crime took place.
The regional health authority is looking into whether more could have been done to prevent the shooting. Results of an investigation are expected this month.
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