A fatal shooting took place in a Copenhagen shopping center late Sunday afternoon. “There are several injured, and we now know that there are several dead”said Copenhagen police chief inspector Søren Thomassen at a press conference on Sunday evening.
The young man, armed according to witnesses with an imposing rifle, was arrested shortly after the arrival of the police near a large shopping mall located not far from the center of the Danish capital. The motives of the suspect, described as “a 22-year-old ethnic Dane”remain unclear but “we cannot rule out an act of terrorism”, according to the Copenhagen police chief. According to him, there is no indication at this stage that other people participated in the killing.
Crisis unit
Two days after the Tour de France passed through the Danish capital, these shots were fired at the end of the afternoon inside the Fields shopping center in the Amager district, located between the city center and the capital’s airport. “We do not yet know for sure how many are injured or dead, but it is very serious”Copenhagen Mayor Sophie H. Andersen said on Twitter.
After gunshots reported by witnesses, significant police reinforcements were dispatched to the outskirts of this vast shopping mall. Footage from the scene showed paramedics carrying an injured person onto a stretcher and mothers consoling their children in their arms. According to national television DR, three people were hospitalized, but this assessment does not include possible support on the spot.
A crisis unit has been triggered, according to the mayor of Copenhagen. When the first shots were heard, more than a hundred people rushed outside the shopping mall, according to witnesses quoted by Danish media.
Extensive security perimeter
Roads around the mall were blocked with a large security perimeter, metro traffic cut off, and a helicopter hovered over the area, according to a reporter on the spot. Heavily armed police prevented residents from returning to their homes. The scene of the attack is near a major concert hall, the Royal Arena where a concert by British singer Harry Styles was due to start at 8 p.m.
The last attack in Copenhagen dates back to February 14 and 15, 2015, when a series of Islamist-motivated shootings left two dead and five injured.
Update 10:03 p.m., with more details on the events.