The Guardian

Three dead after gun attack in Danish mall

Jennifer Rankin

Three people were shot dead at a busy Copenhagen shopping centre yesterday, in what Danish police said could be a terrorist incident.

Officers said that more people were wounded, including three in a critical condition.

Copenhagen police chief inspector, Søren Thomassen, said authorities had no indication that there was more than one shooter. He said the suspect in custody was a 22-year-old Danish man and that “terrorism” could not be ruled out as a motive. He had a rifle and ammunition when he was arrested. He has been charged with manslaughter and will be questioned in front of a judge today.

“We know that there are

several dead” and “several injured”, Thomassen told reporters. “We do not have information that others are involved. This is what we know now.” The exact number of fatalities was given late last night.

The capital’s main hospital, Rigshospitalet, called in extra staff, a spokesperson said.

In a series of tweets yesterday, police said they had sent officers to Field’s, a large shopping centre in the capital, after receiving reports of a shooting. A large number of police were present, they added, advising people inside the centre to stay put and await assistance. “We have a massive presence at Field’s and are working on getting an overview,” police tweeted.

Images on social media that could not be immediately verified showed police getting dressed in protective gear and running into a building.

Other footage posted online showed people running through and out of the mall, and Denmark’s TV2 broadcaster 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.

Copenhagen’s mayor, Sophie Haestorp Andersen, tweeted: “Terrible reports of shooting in Fields. We do not yet know for sure how many were injured or dead, but it is very serious.”

Laurits Hermansen told Danish broadcaster DR that he was in a clothing store in 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 shopping centre’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 broadcaster TV2.

Field’s is on the outskirts of the capital and has 135 shops, cafes and restaurants.

A concert by Harry Styles at a venue less than a mile away was cancelled last night, after earlier reports that it would go ahead. On Snapchat, the singer wrote: “My team and I pray for everyone involved in the Copenhagen shopping mall shooting.”

Shortly after the shooting, the royal palace said a reception connected to the Tour de France cycling race with Crown Prince Frederik had been cancelled. The first three stages of the race were held in Denmark this year, the palace said in a statement.

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