“We know that there are several dead” and “several injured.”
A gunman opened fire in a shopping centre in Copenhagen last night, killing several people and wounding several others, local police have said.
Police inspector Søren Thomassen, head of the Copenhagen police operations unit, held a press briefing Sunday evening to inform the public that a 22-year-old Danish man has been detained near the Fields shopping centre, where the shootings took place.
The suspected gunman is believed to have acted alone, but investigations are ongoing, Danish police confirm.
“We know that there are several dead” and “several injured”, Thomassen told the news conference, adding that terror can’t be ruled out.
“We do not have information that others are involved. This is what we know now.”
The police inspector didn’t provide any further details on the victims.
People were crying and hiding in shops
The Fields shopping centre sits on the outskirts of the Danish capital, just across from a subway line that connects the city centre with the international airport.
Images from the scene showed people running out of the centre, and local news stations confirmed the centre as being ‘particularly busy’ this Sunday afternoon, as UK artist Harry Styles was due to play his sold-out concert at the Royal Arena across the road.
“Many families were spending the afternoon at the shopping centre, maybe eating an early dinner at one of the many restaurants there, before heading across the road to the concert” Danish broadcaster DR said in a news report.
The report also revealed witnesses said people were crying and hiding in shops.
Laurits Hermansen told Danish broadcaster DR that he was in a clothing store at the shopping centre with his family when he heard “three-four bangs. Really loud bangs. It sounded like the shots were being fired just next to the store”.
When the shots could be heard, some people hid in shops while others fled in a panicked stampede, witnesses revealed.
Local police in Copenhagen have as of yet not given any specific casualty count beyond saying several people were dead and several wounded.
Upon the news of the tragedy breaking, Harry Styles and his team decided to cancel the sold-out concert, tweeting that ‘My heart is broken for the people of Copenhagen.’
