Several dead in Copenhagen mall shooting; suspect arrested

Several people were killed and many others grievously wounded after a gunman opened fire inside a busy shopping mall in the Danish capital on Sunday.

Some reports peg the death toll at three while others say it may be more.

The 22-year-old Danish man was arrested after the shooting, Copenhagen police inspector Søren Thomassen told reporters, adding there was no indication that anyone else was involved. Police is still investigating the case.

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Thomassen said it was too early to speculate on the motive for the shooting, which happened in the late afternoon at Fields, one of the biggest shopping malls in Scandinavia, located on the outskirts of the Danish capital.

Thomassen said the suspect was an ethnic Dane, a phrase typically used to mean someone is white. Danish broadcaster TV2 published a grainy photo of the alleged gunman, a man wearing knee-length shorts and a tank top and holding what appeared to be a rifle in his right hand. Images from the scene showed people running out of the mall, and TV2 posted a photo of a man being put on a stretcher. Witnesses said people were crying and hid in shops. After the shooting, an enormous contingent of heavily-armed police officers patrolled the area, with several fire department vehicles also parked outside the mall.

Copenhagen Mayor Sophie H 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 at the shopping centre with his family when he heard three, four bangs. “Really loud bangs. It sounded like the shots were being fired just next to the store.” The shopping centre is on the outskirts of Copenhagen just across from a subway station for a line that connects the city centre with the international airport. A major highway also runs adjacent to the mall.

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Singer Harry Styles was scheduled to perform Sunday night at the nearby Royal Arena, but it was not clear it would go ahead. On Snapchat, Styles wrote: “My team and I pray for everyone involved in the Copenhagen shopping mall shooting. I am shocked. Love H.”
Shortly after the shooting, the royal palace said a reception with Crown Prince Frederik connected to the Tour de France cycling race had been cancelled. The first three stages of the race were held in Denmark this year. The reception was due to be held on the royal yacht that is moored in Soenderborg, the town where the third stage ended. The shooting came a week after a mass shooting in neighbouring Norway, where police said a Norwegian man of Iranian origin opened fire during a LGBTQ festival, killing two and injuring more than 20.

(With inputs from agencies)