what we know
What we don’t know
Three people were killed in a shooting in a Copenhagen shopping center. These are a 17-year-old man, a 17-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man. Several other people were injured, four of them critically.
Police chief inspector Søren Thomassen said at a press conference in the Danish capital on Sunday evening that the police had arrested a 22-year-old Dane who was an urgent suspect. He was known to the police – but had not been particularly conspicuous so far. Apparently he acted alone.
The arrested suspect allegedly posted videos on YouTube before the attack, in which he posed with two different guns and a gun cabinet can be seen in the background. Among other things, the man, who worked in a rifle club, holds his gun to his head. Police have not confirmed that the man in the videos is the detainee.
The authorities are currently feverishly investigating the background to the crime. “We don’t know the motive yet, but I can assure you that the authorities are doing everything they can to clarify this case and those responsible can be prosecuted,” Justice Minister Mattias Tesfaye told the Ritzau agency.
The police were on duty after the alarm at around 5:30 p.m. with a large contingent. A helicopter hovered over the area. The area has been cordoned off.
When the first shots were fired, more than a hundred people ran out of the mall, Danish media reported, citing eyewitnesses. The British “BBC”, citing an eyewitness, writes that the perpetrator fired his shots with a hunting rifle. Amateur videos from the building showed a man walking past shops with a long gun in his hand.
20-year-old Emilie Jeppesen told the Jyllands-Posten newspaper: “You didn’t know what was happening. Suddenly chaos broke out everywhere.” Her friend Astrid Kofoed Jørgensen said: “Everyone in the restaurant was sent to the kitchen, then we sat there and we could hear three or four shots.”
The police called on eyewitnesses to provide video and photo material.
Copenhagen Mayor Sophie H. Andersen expressed her horror at the incident: It was “terrible,” Andersen tweeted on Sunday evening. “It’s very serious.” The city is in close contact with the police and is ready to help.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen condemned the act as a “cruel attack”. She called on the people of the country to stick together and support one another. “We’ve all been brutally ripped out of the bright summer we’ve just begun,” shared Fredriksen. “It’s incomprehensible. Heartbreaking. Pointless. Our beautiful and otherwise safe capital city has been transformed in a split second.”
The large shopping center “Fields” is located in the district of Amager between the center of the Danish capital and the airport. The mall will now be closed for at least a week. The large multi-purpose hall Royal Arena is also nearby. A sold-out concert by British singer Harry Styles was planned there on Sunday. The concert has been cancelled.