Three people were killed and several people were injured in the shooting at the Copenhagen Mall on Sunday, said Denmark Police, added that they had arrested a suspect, a 22 -year -old Dane.The young man, who according to witnesses was armed with a large rifle, was arrested peacefully shortly after the police arrived at the large field shopping center, which is located between the city center and the Copenhagen Airport.
“There were three dead and some were injured, three of them were in critical condition,” Copenhagen Police Chief Soren Thomassen told a press conference.The motive of the suspect, described by the police as “ethnic Dane” aged 22 years, remains unclear.He is known by the police “but only peripheral,” said Thomassen. “He is not someone we know.”
Three people died was a man in his four and two young people whose age was not determined.On the social networking people speculated about racist motifs, or other motives, the head of the investigation said, “But I cannot say that we have anything that supports it at this time.” The police but confirmed that they were investigating videos posted online that claimed to show the suspect with weapons and pointed a gun to his head.
Previously Thomassen said the police “could not exclude that it was terror” but they believed the alleged shooter acted alone.Pictures from the scene showed parents who brought their children when they fled from the building and ambulance personnel bring people away with a stretcher.
‘We are running for our lives’
The shooting occurred around 17:30, causing panic in the mall. Many visitors were there for a concert with British singer Harry Styles at the nearest Royal Arena, which was canceled.My children should go to see Harry Styles. They called me to say someone shot. They were in a restaurant when it happened, “Hans Christian Stolz, a 53-year-old Sweden who came to pick up his children, told AFP.
“We thought at first people ran because they had seen Harry Styles, then we understood that it was a panicked person … we ran for our lives,” said his daughter Cassandra.My team and I prayed for everyone involved in the shooting mall of Copenhagen shopping malls. I was surprised, “Styles said in Snapchat’s post.
The attack occurred two days after this year’s Tour de France cycling competition began with Copenhagen, and the tour organizer released a statement that revealed their sympathy.The entire Karavan Tour de France sent a sincere condolence to the victims and their families,” he said.Witnesses quoted by Denmark media described how the suspect had tried to deceive people by saying his weapon was fake, to make them approach.
“He was quite psychopathic to go and hunt people, but he did not run,” a witness told Dr. State Television.Another eyewitness told the Denmark media that they had seen more than 100 people rushed to the exit of the mall when the first shot was fired.”We can see that many people suddenly run to the exit and then we hear the explosion,” Thea Schmidt, who was in the mall when the attack told TV2 announcers. “Then we run out of field too.” We heard the sound of shots’The police have urged the people in the building to wait inside for their arrival, asking others to stay away from the area.
The police also asked witnesses to contact them and called those who had visited the shopping center to contact the loved ones to convince them. “Suddenly we heard the sound of gunfire, I heard 10 shots, and we ran as far as we were able to take refuge in the toilet,” Isabella told public announcer Dr. He said he was hiding in the mall for two hours.
Another witness described the armed man as a man about 1.8 meters (five legs nine inches) carrying a hunting rifle.Around 19:30 (1730 GMT), the roads around the mall were blocked, the subway was closed and the helicopter flew above, said the AFP correspondent at the scene.Heavy armed police continued to return and prevent local residents from returning to their homes.