Copenhagen shooting: suspect charged after three
killed in Denmark shopping centre attack
Twenty-two-year-old Danish man charged with
manslaughter and will face court on Monday
Jennifer
Rankin and agencies
Mon 4 Jul
2022 01.18 BST
Danish
police have said three people were shot dead and three critically injured after
a gunman opened fire at a busy Copenhagen shopping centre on Sunday evening.
A
22-year-old Danish man was arrested after the shooting, Copenhagen police
inspector Søren Thomassen said. The suspect has been charged with manslaughter
and will face questioning in front of a judge on Monday.
The suspect
was known to police “but only peripherally”, Thomassen said on Sunday evening.
The victims
included a man in his 40s and two “young people”, he added, without giving
further details. Several others were injured, three of them critically, he
said.
The suspect
was apprehended at 5.48pm local time while carrying a rifle and ammunition,
said investigators. Police launched a massive search operation throughout the
local Zealand region early Sunday evening in search of any accomplices.
“We are
going to have a large investigation and a massive operational presence in
Copenhagen until we can say with certainty: he was alone,” Thomassen said.
Thomassen
said it was too early to speculate on the motive for the shooting, which
happened at Field’s, one of the biggest shopping malls in Scandinavia and
located on the outskirts of the Danish capital.
The
investigation so far did not point towards a racist motive or otherwise, but
this could change, the police chief said.
The
capital’s main hospital, Rigshospitalet, has called in extra staff, including
surgeons and nurses, a spokesman said.
In a series
of tweets earlier on Sunday, police said they had sent officers to Field’s,
after receiving reports of a shooting. Police were present in large numbers,
they added, advising people inside the centre to stay put and await assistance.
Images on
social media that could not be immediately verified showed police running into
a building and getting dressed in protective gear.
Danish
broadcaster TV2 published a grainy photo of the alleged gunman, a man wearing
knee-length shorts, a vest or sleeveless shirt, and holding what appeared to be
a rifle in his right hand.
Other
footage posted online showed people running through and out of the mall and TV2
also posted a photo of a man being put on a stretcher. Witnesses said people
were crying and hiding in shops. Several fire vehicles were parked outside the
mall.
Police have
appealed for anyone who has seen, heard or filmed anything to contact them.
“Denmark
was hit by a cruel attack on Sunday night. Several were killed. Even more
wounded. Innocent families shopping or eating out. Children, adolescents and
adults,” prime minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement late on Sunday.
“Our
beautiful and usually so safe capital was changed in a split second,” she said.
“I want to encourage the Danes to stand together and support each other in this
difficult time.”
The Danish
royal family spoke of their shock at news of the attacks. “Our thoughts and
deepest sympathy are with the victims, their relatives and all those affected
by the tragedy,” said Queen Margrethe, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess
Mary in a statement. “The situation calls for unity and care, and we would like
to thank the police, the emergency services and the health authorities for
their quick and effective efforts during these hours.”
Laurits
Hermansen told Danish broadcaster DR that he was in a clothing store at the
shopping centre with his family when he heard “three or four bangs. Really loud
bangs. It sounded like the shots were being fired just next to the store.”
Other
witnesses quoted by Danish media said they had seen more than 100 people rush
towards the mall’s exit as the first shots were heard.
“We could
see that many people suddenly ran towards the exit and then we heard a bang.
Then we ran out of Field’s too,” Thea Schmidt, who was in the mall at time of
the attack, told TV2.
Field’s
shopping centre has 135 shops, cafes and restaurants.
The mall is
just across from a subway line that connects the city centre with the
international airport. A major highway also runs adjacent to Field’s.
A concert
by British singer Harry Styles, which was due to take place at the Royal Arena
less than a mile from the mall, was cancelled on Sunday evening despite earlier
reports that it would go ahead.
On
Snapchat, Styles wrote: “My team and I pray for everyone involved in the
Copenhagen shopping mall shooting. I am shocked. Love H.”
Shortly
after the shooting, the royal palace said a reception with Crown Prince
Frederik connected to the Tour de France cycling race had been cancelled. The
first three stages of the race were held in Denmark this year, the palace said
in a statement.
The
reception was due to be held on the royal yacht that is moored in Sønderborg,
the town where the third stage ended.
The
Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
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