Three people were killed and several injured Sunday in a shooting inside a shopping center in Copenhagen, police said, confirming that they had arrested a 22-year-old Danish suspect.
Soren Thomassen, Copenhagen’s chief police inspector, told a news conference that the 22-year-old suspect, who was arrested after the shooting, was known to police “but only marginally”.
Thomassen indicated that three people were killed, pointing out that there were many wounded, three of whom were in critical condition. The three dead are a man in his forties and two young men whose ages have not been specified.
Thomasen noted that the motives of the suspect, described as “of 22-year-old Danish origin”, remained unclear, but said that “a terrorist act cannot be ruled out”. He added that there was no indication at this stage that other people were involved in this process.
The investigation leader said that there is information circulating on social networks that the operation may have been carried out with a racist motive, or with various other motives, “but I cannot say that we have anything to support that at this stage.”
But the police confirmed that they are investigating videos posted on the Internet that show the suspect carrying weapons, aiming them at his temple, which raises doubts about his psychological state. A large force of police was deployed at the scene of the shooting and in several places in Copenhagen.
The shooting took place around 17:30 local time (15:30 GMT), causing a state of panic. Many visitors were present at the site, before a concert by British star Harry Styles was scheduled in a large hall next door, but was canceled in the evening.
Danish media quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the suspect tried to trap his victims in order to get them to come closer, saying, for example, that his weapon was fake. “He was mentally disturbed enough to chase people, but he wasn’t running,” a witness told public broadcaster DR.
When the first shots were heard, more than a hundred people rushed outside the mall, according to a video clip of the incident, while others had to hide inside.
Isabella, who had been hiding there for two hours, told Public Channel, “Suddenly we heard gunshots. I heard ten gunshots, and we ran as far as we could to take cover in the toilets.”
Earlier, the mayor of the Danish capital, Sophie Andersen, wrote on Twitter, “We do not yet know the number of injured or dead, but it is very dangerous.”
Two days after the third stage of the Tour de France was organized in the Danish capital, the afternoon shooting took place inside the Fields shopping center in the Lama district between the city center and the capital’s airport.
Earlier, the police wrote on Twitter: “A person has been arrested in connection with the shooting. We cannot provide further information on his identity.” After witnesses reported shooting, large police reinforcements arrived at the sprawling shopping center.
Scenes from the scene showed paramedics transporting a wounded person and mothers carrying their children and trying to comfort them. National television “DR” reported that three people were taken to hospital. But this outcome does not include those who were rescued on the spot.
The mayor of Copenhagen explained that a crisis cell had been formed. The authorities called on those inside the building to wait for the entry of the police and others to stay away from the area.
At around 19:30 (1730 GMT), a wide security cordon was struck and roads leading to the shopping center were cut off. Also, the metro was stopped and a helicopter was flying over the area, according to an AFP reporter at the scene. Heavily armed police prevented people in the vicinity from returning to their homes.
The last attack in Copenhagen was on February 14 and 15, 2015, when a series of shootings against an extremist Islamic background left two dead and five wounded.