(Copenhagen) Several people were hit by gunfire at a major shopping center in Copenhagen on Sunday and one person was arrested in connection with the shooting, police say.
Posted at 1:02 p.m.
Updated at 2:08 p.m.
“We don’t yet know for sure how many are injured or dead, but it’s very serious,” Copenhagen Mayor Sophie H. Andersen said on Twitter.
Two days after the Tour de France passed through the Danish capital, these shots were fired at the end of the afternoon inside the Fields shopping center in the Amager district, located between the city center and the capital’s airport.
PHOTO OLAFUR STEINAR GESTSSON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
People are seen running during the evacuation of the Fields shopping center in Copenhagen.
“One person has been arrested in connection with the shooting. We do not immediately have the opportunity to say more about his identity, “said the police on Twitter at the start of the evening.
After gunshots reported by witnesses, significant police reinforcements were dispatched to the outskirts of this vast shopping mall.
Footage from the scene showed paramedics carrying an injured person on a stretcher and mothers consoling their children in their arms.
Police did not immediately specify the number or condition of the victims. According to national television DR, three people were hospitalized, but this assessment does not include possible support on the spot.
A crisis unit has been triggered, according to the mayor of Copenhagen.
When the first shots were heard, more than a hundred people rushed outside the shopping mall, according to witnesses quoted by Danish media.
PHOTO OLAFUR STEINAR GESTSSON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A woman ran away with her two children.
Extensive security perimeter
“We are on the scene, shots have been fired and several people have been hit,” the police announced shortly after on Twitter.
Authorities have called on people potentially in the building to wait inside for help to arrive, and on all others to stay away from the area.
Around 7:30 p.m. local time, the roads around the shopping center were blocked with a large security perimeter, metro traffic cut off and a helicopter hovered over the area, according to an AFP journalist on the spot.
Heavily armed police prevent residents from returning to their homes.
The scene of the attack is near a major concert hall, the Royal Arena where a concert by British singer Harry Styles was due to start at 8 p.m.
Police gave no indication of the motives for the shooting.
The last attack in Copenhagen dates back to February 14 and 15, 2015, when a series of Islamist-motivated shootings left two dead and five injured.