(Copenhagen) In a bruised Denmark, the alleged perpetrator of the killing in a Copenhagen shopping center was placed in psychiatric detention on Monday, and the mental health of the 22-year-old shooter is now at the heart of the investigation.
Posted at 6:40 a.m.
Updated at 9:51 a.m.
Dressed in a blue T-shirt, the suspect arrested shortly after the shooting was brought before a court judge in the Danish capital, who served him with charges for three murders, including that of two teenagers, and seven attempted murders .
After two hours of hearing, his provisional detention was ordered for 24 days renewable, but in a “closed psychiatric unit”. At the request of the prosecutor and with the agreement of the defence, the decision is accompanied by an examination of his mental state.
Police had announced Monday morning that the suspect, described as an “ethnic” Dane, was known to have a psychiatric history.
According to the national radio and television DR, citing several anonymous sources, the alleged shooter tried to join a psychological help line shortly before the events, which the authorities did not want to confirm.
The attack, committed mainly with a rifle, killed three people and injured 30, including four seriously, in a large shopping center, Fields, located between the center of Copenhagen and the airport of the capital.
The drama shattered a festive weekend in the Scandinavian country, between the jubilation of the Tour de France and the return of the giant Roskilde music festival after two years of cancellations due to COVID-19.
“Very justified discussions”
“I believe that we have rarely experienced such a violent contrast as yesterday,” admitted Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who came to pay tribute to the victims on the scene Monday at noon.
“Naturally very justified discussions will emerge […] in connection with the weapons used, in connection with psychiatry […] But today I find that we must pay tribute to the victims, show our sympathy, our help and our support, and support all those who have been affected, ”she said in front of the cameras.
Copenhagen City Hall has announced that it is preparing a tribute to the victims.
The identities of the three people killed – a 47-year-old man, a 17-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl – as well as the injured of different ages and genders suggest “these are randomly selected victims”, a explained Soren Thomassen.
“Nothing indicates in what we found that it was a terrorist act,” said the director of the investigation, according to which the shooter acted alone.
The police confirmed on Monday morning that they considered authentic videos of the suspect circulating since Sunday evening on social networks.
The 22-year-old young man – whose identity is known, but not made public – appears there posing with weapons, miming suicide gestures with a rifle and a pistol.
He also mentions a treatment with a powerful drug prescribed in psychiatry “which does not work”.
The suspect’s YouTube and Instagram accounts were deactivated overnight, but the videos, posted Friday according to Danish media, are still circulating on other accounts.
The police believe it is too early to comment on the motive for the attack, but that it seems to have been prepared in advance.
Four seriously injured
The arrest had been made without difficulty around 5:50 p.m. (11:50 a.m. EDT) outside the mall about a quarter of an hour after the first reports of gunshots, according to police.
The four who were shot and injured are still “in serious condition”. They are two Danish women aged 19 and 40 and two Swedes, a 50-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl.
According to the police, twenty-three people were also slightly injured during the panic caused by the shooting in the shopping center.
The latter was very popular due to a concert, with 13,500 spectators, of the British star Harry Styles scheduled in a large venue nearby, the Royal Arena. The show was canceled at the last minute.
“I am heartbroken with the people of Copenhagen. I love this city. The people there are so warm and full of love,” the singer said on Twitter.