“There are three dead and several injured, three of them in critical condition,” Copenhagen Police Chief Inspector Søren Thomassen told a news conference.
The motives of the suspect, described by the police as a 22-year-old “ethnic Dane”, remain unclear. He is known to the police “but only peripherally,” Thomassen said. “He’s not someone we particularly know.”
The three killed are a man in his forties and two young people whose ages have not been specified.
“On social networks, we see flourishing that it would be a racist motive, or another form of motive, but I cannot say that we have anything which supports that at this moment”, specified the head of the investigation.
The police, however, confirmed that they are investigating videos published online claiming to show the suspect with weapons, the barrel of which he points to his temple, which also question his psychiatric condition. A little earlier, the investigators had refused to exclude an act of terrorism”, but explained that their hypothesis was that the alleged shooter acted alone.
Two days following the Tour de France passed through the Danish capital, with great scenes of jubilation, a large police force was deployed at the scene of the shooting and in several places in Copenhagen.
The killing occurred around 5:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. GMT), causing panic. Many visitors were there before a concert by British star Harry Styles in a nearby large hall, which was canceled in the evening.
A crisis unit was triggered, according to the mayor of Copenhagen Sophie Haestorp Andersen, as well as a psychological care center.
Police gave no indication of the motives for the shooting. Footage of the arrest shows the suspect, dressed in a white jumpsuit to preserve DNA evidence, being picked up by officers. He will be questioned on Monday.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen blasted a “cruel attack” at a shopping center where “adults, young people and children” were found. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and several foreign leaders sent their thoughts and condolences, as did the organization of the Tour de France.
