Danish police on Monday ruled out any terrorism-related motive of the gunman who killed three people and injured several others in a shopping mall on the outskirts of the capital Copenhagen on Sunday, saying he acted alone and shot victims at random.
The shooting began at about 5:30 pm local time on Sunday in the Field’s shopping center, leaving three people dead and several others injured, including four in critical condition. Police were called at 5:37 pm and arrested the suspect 11 minutes later, who was identified as a 22-year-old “ethnic Dane” man.
The three killed were identified as a Danish boy and girl, both aged 17, and a 47-year-old Russian man living in Denmark. The four in critical condition were two Danish women aged 19 and 40, and a 50-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl from Sweden, Copenhagen chief inspector Soren Thomassen told a news conference on Monday morning.
He said the gunman likely acted alone and selected his victims indiscriminately. He added that while the shooter’s motive was still unclear, there was no sign that it was related to terrorism.
“There are no indications in the investigation, documents or witness statements that could point to this being about terrorism,” he said.
Thomassen expressed that he was not prepared to discuss the alleged shooter’s motives, but said “our suspect is also known among psychiatric services, beyond that I do not wish to comment”.
After the arrest, authorities launched a sweeping search operation across the island of Zealand in search of any possible accomplices.
The suspect was due to be arraigned later on Monday for preliminary charges of murder.
Video footage showed the alleged gunman wearing knee-length socks and holding a rifle.
Police now believe the videos of the suspect that went viral on social media on Sunday evening are authentic. In one clip, the suspect was seen posing with weapons, talking about psychiatric medication “that does not work” and mimicking suicide gestures.
‘Cruel attack’
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the country “was hit by a cruel attack”.
“It is incomprehensible. Heartbreaking. Pointless,” she said. “Our beautiful and usually so safe capital was changed in a split second.”
The Danish royal family said their “thoughts and deepest sympathy are with the victims and their relatives and all those affected by the tragedy”.
Video footage also showed that more than 100 people rushed out of the shopping center and others were forced to hide inside.
Many were at the center before an evening concert by British star Harry Styles at a nearby venue. The event was later canceled.
The last time such shooting took place in Denmark was in February 2015, which resulted in the death of three people, including the perpetrator himself.
The incident also came a week after a horrible shooting in neighboring Norway where a gunman killed two people and injured more than 20 outside a popular LGBTQ nightclub in Oslo on June 25. Norwegian authorities identified the shooter as a suspected radical Islamist with “a long history of violence and threats “and mental illness.
