Denmark Police refutes terror link in Copenhagen mall shooting that killed 3 people

In the latest development pertaining to the Copenhagen mall shooting, the Danish Police claimed that the attack was not terror-related which killed at least three people and injured several others. According to the police, the shooter acted alone and seems to have picked his victims randomly. The incident happened on Sunday, July 3, afternoon when the gunman opened fire on crowds inside the Field’s mall in south Copenhagen. Copenhagen chief police inspector Soren Thomassen stated that deceased people include two Danes teenagers, a boy and a girl; and a 47-year-old Russian man.  

According to Copenhagen's chief police inspector, there was no evidence that the gunman, identified as a 22-year-old Dane, received assistance from anyone during the assault. The accused would be presented before the trial court on Monday on preliminary murder charges, Thomassen said, adding that while the motive was not evident, there was nothing that suggested terrorism. He further noted that the police received the report of the shooting around 5:37 pm (local time) and arrested the gunman within a few minutes. 

Danish PM Mette Frederiksen condemns the attack

"He (the gunman) seemed very violent and angry. He spoke to me and said it the rifle is not real as I was filming him. He seemed very proud of what he was doing," one of the eyewitnesses told Danish broadcaster TV2, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Meanwhile, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen condemned the attack and stated that the country has been hit by a "cruel attack." "It is incomprehensible. Heartbreaking. Pointless. Our beautiful and usually so safe capital was changed in a split second," she stated, as per the AP. 

Heavy police deployment in region following the incident

Following the incident, a substantial number of police officers with heavy weapons patrolled the area, and there were also a number of fire department cars positioned outside the mall. Notably, the shopping centre is located on the outskirts of Copenhagen, just next to a subway stop on a line that runs from the city centre to the airport. According to reports, it was the worst gun attack in Denmark since February 2015, when a 22-year-old man went on a shooting rampage in the capital and killed two people and injured at least five police personnel. 

(With inputs from AP)

Image: AP