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Suspect in Copenhagen shopping center shooting was known to psychiatry professionals, police say

2022-07-04T11:46:56.541Z


The suspect in the shooting at a Copenhagen shopping mall was known to psychiatric professionals, according to police.


What we know about the shooting in Copenhagen 1:58

Copenhagen, Denmark (CNN) --

A man arrested on suspicion of killing three people and injuring several others during a shooting at a Copenhagen shopping mall was known to psychiatric professionals, Danish police said Monday.

The shooting took place this Sunday in several places inside Field's, a shopping center in the Danish capital.

Social media images showed people running through the mall and heavily armed law enforcement officers at the scene.

At a press conference on Monday morning, Copenhagen Police Chief Soren Thomassen said two 17-year-old Danish citizens, a man and a woman, and a 47-year-old Russian citizen had been killed in the shooting. .

Two other Danes and two Swedish citizens had received gunshot wounds and were in hospital in critical but stable condition, while several other people suffered minor injuries leaving the mall, Thomassen said.

  • At least three dead after shooting at Copenhagen shopping mall, police say

As of Monday, only one of the four injured remained in critical condition, according to Rigshospitalet hospital, where most of the victims are receiving care.

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A 22-year-old Danish man was arrested in connection with the shooting and is currently the only suspect.

Thomassen said there is no indication the suspect was co-operating, but the investigation was ongoing.

Previously, police had said they detained the suspect 13 minutes after receiving the first emergency call, and that he was "carrying a rifle and ammunition" at the time of his arrest.

At Monday's news conference, Thomassen said there was no indication the attack was an "act of terror" or gender-motivated, and police believe the victims were chosen at random.

The suspect was "known to people in the psychiatric field," he said.

The suspect will be charged with manslaughter, Thomassen added.

Mass shootings are rare in Denmark

Armed violence is relatively rare in Denmark.

The last major shooting in Copenhagen was in 2015, when a gunman attacked a free speech forum featuring controversial cartoonist Lars Vilks, killing one man and wounding three others.

As investigators piece together the circumstances leading up to Sunday's deadly shooting, questions are being raised about how the suspected gunman was able to obtain the gun and ammunition used in the attack, as Denmark is considered to have one of the most restrictive in Europe.

While in the United States gun ownership is conditionally guaranteed by the Constitution, in Denmark the right to private gun ownership is not guaranteed by law, according to GunPolicy.org, an organization that tracks international politics in matter of firearms.

This is how AR-15 rifles generate a body blast 3:51

Through restrictive licensing, the Danish authorities attempt to reduce gun violence by substantially reducing the number of guns in circulation.

Applicants for a gun license in Denmark must pass a background check that takes criminal and mental health into account, according to GunPolicy.org.

Only licensed gun owners can legally acquire, possess, or transfer a firearm or ammunition.

Applicants for a gun owner's license in Denmark must show that they have a genuine reason to own a firearm, for example, hunting, target shooting, collection, according to GunPolicy.org.

Danish police confirmed on Monday that the alleged assailant did not have a permit.

"Run, run, run, keep shooting in there"

Witness Joachim Olsen, a former Danish politician and athlete, told CNN he was heading to a gym inside Field's when he saw large groups of people leaving the mall.

"It looked like something, I'm sorry to say, like something you'd see in a school shooting in America, people walking out with their hands above their heads," Olsen said.

"There are people running out, looking for their friends and calling friends and family who were inside, some talking to friends who were inside," he said.

"Older people with their arms around the necks of the people who were carrying them outside, their feet dragging on the ground."

Outside the mall, Olsen spoke with a man who spoke to an off-duty paramedic whose arms "were covered in blood up to the elbows."

"He wanted to go back in, but the police wouldn't let him," Olsen said.

According to Olsen, security tried to get the crowd to move away from the mall.

"At one point they rushed us away. The police came over and said, 'Run, run, run, they're still shooting there.'"

  • Harry Styles cancels Copenhagen concert after shopping mall shooting

A spokesman for Rigshospitalet, Denmark's largest hospital, told CNN that the hospital had taken in several victims and had called in extra staff to deal with the emergency.

A hotline for victims has been opened and police have said they have set up a central place where eyewitnesses can receive support and report their experiences to law enforcement.

Danish police said on Sunday that they had evacuated thousands of people from the Royal Arena, located next to the shopping center.

The stadium was scheduled to hold a Harry Styles concert, but it was canceled after the shooting.

In a statement on Sunday night, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sent her condolences to the injured, their families and the bereaved, as well as "all Danes who were close to these horrific events."

"We have all been brutally ripped from the brilliant summer that had just begun. It is incomprehensible. Heartbreaking. Nonsense. Our beautiful and usually so safe capital has changed in a fraction of a second," Frederiksen said.

In a statement, the Danish Royal House said: "Our thoughts and deepest sympathy are with the victims, their families and all those affected by the tragedy."

The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, also expressed her solidarity with the people of Denmark.

"Thinking of everyone in #Copenhagen tonight after horrific reports of multiple people killed in shopping mall shooting. We stand with you Denmark," he tweeted.

Susanne Gargiulo reported from Copenhagen. 

CopenhagenDenmarkMass Shootings

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-07-04

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