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Several people shot at Copenhagen shopping mall, police say

Shooting at Denmark mall

UPDATE 2:30 p.m.

A gunman opened fire inside a busy shopping mall in the Danish capital on Sunday, killing several people and wounding several others, police said.

A 22-year-old Danish man was arrested, Copenhagen police inspector Søren Thomassen told reporters, adding there was no indication that anyone else was involved in the attack, though police were still investigating.

Such shootings are rare in Denmark. Thomassen said it was too early to speculate on the motive for the shooting, which happened in the late afternoon at Field’s, one of the biggest shopping malls in Scandinavia and located on the outskirts of the Danish capital. When the shots rang out, some people hid in shops while others fled in a panicked stampede, according to witnesses.

“It is pure terror. This is awful," said Hans Christian Stoltz, a 53-year-old IT consultant, who was bringing his daughters to see Harry Styles perform at concert scheduled for Sunday night near the mall. "You might wonder how a person can do this to another human being, but it’s beyond … beyond anything that’s possible.”

Thomassen gave no specific casualty count beyond saying several people were dead and several wounded. He 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.


ORIGINAL 11:00 a.m.

Danish police said Sunday that several people were shot at a Copenhagen shopping mall.

Copenhagen police said that one person has been arrested in connection with the shooting at the Field’s shopping mall, which is close to the city's airport. Police tweeted that “several people have been hit,” but gave no other details.

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.”

Images from the scene showed people running 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 hid in shops.

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.”

A huge presence of heavily-armed police officers was on hand, with several fire department vehicles also parked outside the mall.

“One person has been arrested in connection with the shooting at Fields. We currently are not able to say more about the person concerned," Copenhagen police tweeted. “We have a massive presence at Fields and are working on getting an overview.”

The shopping centre is on the outskirts of Copenhagen just across from a subway line that connects the city centre with the international airport. A major highway also runs adjacent to Fields.



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