Three people were killed and at least three others seriously injured in a shootout in Copenhagen on Sunday that caused terrified shoppers to flee to safety in Denmark’s biggest shopping mall, authorities said.
Soren Thomassen, a Copenhagen police inspector, said Monday morning local time that the dead included a man in his 40s and two youths. He did not say how many people in total were injured, but said three were in critical condition.
He said police arrested a 22-year-old Dane in connection with the shooting, which happened around 6 p.m. local time. Authorities have not provided any information on a possible motive, but believe the man was acting alone.
“We are confident that the man we have arrested is the perpetrator,” Mr Thomassen said. “He had in his possession a gun, and he had in his possession ammunition for that gun.”
The shooting took place in Field’s shopping centre, which is described as being nine minutes from central Copenhagen by metro and home to more than 140 shops including Danish and international fashion brands.
Video and images posted on social media showed people come out of the mall and ambulances lined up outside.
A mall employee told local media that “masses of people” had run to seek refuge in Field’s Kentucky Fried Chicken store. Staff members barricaded the doors and stayed there for about 45 minutes, the employee said.
A witness, Mahdi Al-Wazni, told TV 2 News he saw the shooter.
“He seemed violent and angry, and he was screaming as he ran,” he said, adding that he saw the shooter smash through the windows of the mall.
Other witnesses described scenes of panic and employees helping customers flee into the back rooms of stores. A woman told TV 2 she and her family stopped at a shop to buy snacks for her one-year-old daughter when the family heard a loud bang.
Rikke Olsen said her husband initially thought the noise was from someone shooting fireworks or throwing firecrackers. The noise was followed by a wave of mall shoppers running towards the family.
Ms Olsen turned around and saw a man holding what appeared to be a gun, which he was loading, she said.
“I turn around and run as fast as I can while holding my 3-year-old’s hand,” she said. “I just pull him with me, then I lose my grip, and people step on him, because they’re running.”
She picked it up and continued running.
In a statement on Sunday evening, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen urged Danes to unite in the aftermath of the “cruel attack”.
“Several people were killed,” she said. “Even more were injured. Innocent families shopping or eating. Children, young people and adults. »
“We were all brutally pulled away from the bright summer we had just begun,” she continued. “It’s the world upside down. Heartbreaking. Meaningless. Our beautiful and usually so safe capital was changed in a split second.
At the time of filming, Harry Styles fans had gathered nearby in the city’s Royal Arena waiting for the former One Direction singer to perform. At around 8 p.m. the crowd of 17,000 was told the concert would be postponed, but 90 minutes later it was announced that the show had been canceled for “security concerns”, the BBC reported.
‘I am heartbroken with the people of Copenhagen,’ Mr Styles said said on Twitter. ” I love this city. The people are so warm and full of love. I am devastated for the victims, their families and all who suffer. I’m sorry we can’t be together. Please take care of each other.
Gun violence in Denmark is relatively rare, at least compared to the United States, where shootings in public places have become commonplace. According to a repository of gun violence data kept by the University of Sydney, Denmark has just over one gun death per 100,000 population, while the United States has just over 12.
Christine Chung contributed report.