Copenhagen shooting: Copenhagen gunman shot people at random - police

Summary

A 22-year-old man will appear in a Danish court later charged with killing three people in a Copenhagen shopping centre
Two Danish teenagers, both aged 17, and a 47-year-old Russian citizen residing in Denmark, died in the shooting on Sunday
Four people, including two Swedish citizens, were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. One remains in a critical condition, officials say
The suspect has a history of mental health issues, Thomassen says
The victims appeared to have been randomly targeted and there was nothing to indicate it was an act of terror, he adds
Police are investigating videos posted online showing a young man posing with weapons

Live Reporting

Edited by Jeremy Gahagan

Eyewitness: 'I threw myself behind the counter'published at 22:01 British Summer Time 3 July 2022
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
People leaving Field's shopping centre as armed police surround the area
Eyewitness Rikke Levandovski told Danish broadcaster TV2 that she threw herself behind a counter inside one of the stores in the shopping mall after hearing gunshots.
"People first thought it was a thief, then I suddenly hear shots and threw myself behind the counter inside the store," Rikke said.
"He was just shooting into the crowd, not up in ceiling or into the floor," she added.
Psychological support for children at nearby Styles concert - policepublished at 21:54 British Summer Time 3 July 2022
Parents with children attending the now-cancelled Harry Styles concert near to the deadly attack at the shopping mall are being told by police they can pick up their children at Kronen Vanløse.
There will also be the opportunity for psychological help, they said in a tweet (in Danish), external.
17,000 nearby concert-goers ushered towards metro stationpublished at 21:49 British Summer Time 3 July 2022
Jessica Lawrence
BBC News NI, in Copenhagen
Near to the shopping mall where the deadly attack took place, thousands of concert-goers were inside Copenhagen’s Royal Arena waiting for Harry Styles to take to the stage when news of the fatal shooting broke.
At 20:00 local time, fans were told the concert would be postponed for an hour, following discussions between the organisers and police.
But 90 minutes later the crowd of 17,000 were told the gig had been cancelled due to “safety concerns”.
Crew have begun packing away the stage.
Police are directing concert-goers towards the metro and public transport - which remains open.
Nearby car parks are closed and the hotels in the area are also unable to be accessed by patrons.
Where was the mall attack?published at 21:35 British Summer Time 3 July 2022
Image source, EPA
Copenhagen police were called to reports of a shooting at Field's mall in the Danish capital late on Sunday afternoon.
The shopping centre - 5km (3 miles) south of downtown Copenhagen - is a huge multi-storey mall with shops, parking and restaurants.
Buster Emil Kirchner, a freelance journalist in Copenhagen, says it's one of the biggest shopping malls in the country.
"It is typically where families would go, all sorts of people would go to do shopping. The area is very accessible via the metro," he tells the BBC.
Harry styles concert nearby cancelledpublished at 21:24 British Summer Time 3 July 2022
Image source, PA
Image caption,
Harry Styles said he and is team were praying for "everyone involved" in the shooting
British singer Harry Styles had been due to perform at a venue less than a mile from the scene of the shooting later this evening.
Shortly after the shooting the organiser announced the event, at the Royal Arena venue, would "proceed as planned," but later announced its cancellation, AFP news agency is reporting.
"My team and I pray for everyone involved in the Copenhagen shopping mall shooting. I am shocked," Styles, the former One Direction star, said in a Snapchat post.
Copenhagen's hospital calls in extra staff as it receives first patientspublished at 21:14 British Summer Time 3 July 2022
Copenhagen's main hospital, Rigshospitalet, has received a "small group of patients" for treatment, a spokesman tells the news agency Reuters.
They say the hospital has called in extra staff, including surgeons and nurses.
It's still unclear how many casualties there are, but police said "several" were injured and several dead.
'We heard 10 gunshots' - eyewitnesspublished at 21:10 British Summer Time 3 July 2022
One eyewitness to the attack, Isabella, told Danish broadcaster DR: "I heard 10 shots, and we ran as far as we could to take refuge in the toilet," AFP reported.
She said she had hidden in the shopping mall for two hours.
Thea Schmidt, who was also at the mall at the time of the incident, said there was a rush of more than 100 people towards the exit when the shots were fired.
Speaking to TV2, she said: "We could see that many people suddenly ran towards the exit and then we heard a bang.
"Then we ran out of Field's too."
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
People running out of Field's shopping mall in Copenhagen
Several dead but too early to give numbers - policepublished at 20:52 British Summer Time 3 July 2022
Image source, Reuters
We’ve just been hearing from Copenhagen police chief Soeren Thomassen, who has been giving an update on the attack.
"There are several injured, and what we also know now is that there are several dead,” he told reporters.
But he said it’s too early to say exactly how many people had been harmed.
There was no indication other shooters were involved, he said.
What we know so farpublished at 20:49 British Summer Time 3 July 2022
Image source, Reuters
Here's what we know so far:
- Several people have been killed in the shooting at a shopping centre in Copenhagen in Denmark, police say
- They were called to Field’s mall in the capital late on Sunday afternoon
- The number of casualties is unclear
- A 22-year-old ethnic Dane has been arrested in connection with the attack
- Police say the motive was unclear, but they could not rule out an “act of terrorism”
Welcomepublished at 20:48 British Summer Time 3 July 2022
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of a shooting at a shopping centre in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.
Police in Copenhagen say several people have been killed in the shooting.
Plenty is still unclear, but stick with us and we’ll bring you live updates as and when we get them.