Police: Suspected Copenhagen Shooter is Ethnic Dane With Psychiatric Record
© AFP 2023 / OLAFUR STEINAR GESTSSON
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The shooting at Field's shopping mall in Danish capital killed three and left at least six injured is the first in Denmark since the 2015 synagogue shooting. According to the police, the shooter acted alone with no racist motive.
The working hypothesis is that the suspected perpetrator of Sunday's shooting at Field's shopping mall in Copenhagen acted alone, Søren Thomassen, chief inspector at Copenhagen police, has said at a press conference.
“Until now, we have been unable to prove that he has collaborated with others”, Thomassen said. “There is no indication that the suspect has worked with others or received help from others”.
“Until now, we have been unable to prove that he has collaborated with others”, Thomassen said. “There is no indication that the suspect has worked with others or received help from others”.
The police also said that the suspected perpetrator was a 22-year-old ethnic Danish man.
According to Søren Thomassen, the suspect has been known to the police from before, but only peripherally. He didn't provide further details on this. At the same time,Thomassen also stressed that the suspect has been known in psychiatry.
The motive for the shooting that killed three and left at least six injured is still unknown.
“On social media, speculations abound on whether there should be a racist motive or another kind of motive for this, but we cannot say we have anything that supports it here and now”, Søren Thomassen, said, refusing to speculate on other motives such as revenge.
At present, the Copenhagen Police see no sign of terrorism as well. There is nothing in the investigation, documents or testimony that can substantiate that it is terror, Thomassen stressed.
Police received the report of the shooting at Field's, a multi-storey shopping mall located some 5 kilometers south of downtown Copenhagen, on Sunday at 5.35pm. At 5.48pm, the suspect was arrested near the mall.
“The perpetrator was in possession of a rifle and ammunition for it. The arrest happened undramatically”, chief inspector said.
“The perpetrator was in possession of a rifle and ammunition for it. The arrest happened undramatically”, chief inspector said.
Previously, Danish tabloid BT published unverified video footage filmed by a witness to the attack, Mahdi Al-wazni, showing a man with a large rifle walking through the mall and swinging it around his shoulders.
“He seemed very aggressive and shouted different things”, Al-wazni told BT.
The suspect will face preliminary questioning in front of a judge early on Monday. He currently charged with manslaughter, but according to Søren Thomassen there may be more charges.
Condolences and support were offered by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who encouraged fellow Danes to “stand together and support each other at this difficult time”, Queen Margrethe II and other politicians.
3 July 2022, 16:50 GMT
The terrorist threat against Denmark is currently assessed as “serious”, with the biggest threat coming from militant Islamism, according to the latest report from the Danish Security and Intelligence Service.
Denmark last saw a militant attack in 2015, when two people were killed and six police officers wounded when a lone gunman shot and killed a man outside a culture centre hosting a debate on freedom of speech, and later killed a person outside a Jewish synagogue in central Copenhagen. That gunman was killed in a shoot-out with police.
