3 dead, 3 critically wounded in shooting at Denmark mall
3 dead, 3 critically wounded in shooting at Denmark mall
3 dead, 3 critically wounded in shooting at Denmark mall
COPENHAGEN, Denmark -
A gunman opened fire inside a busy shopping mall in the Danish capital Sunday, killing three people and critically wounding three others, police said.
A 22-year-old Danish man was arrested after the shooting, Copenhagen police inspector Soren Thomassen told reporters, adding there was no indication that anyone else was involved in the attack, though police were still investigating.
Gun violence is relatively rare in Denmark.
Thomassen said it was too early to speculate on the motive for the shooting, which happened in the late afternoon at Field's, one of the biggest shopping malls in Scandinavia and located on the outskirts of the Danish capital. When the shots rang out, some people hid in shops while others fled in a panicked stampede, according to witnesses.
"It is pure terror. This is awful," said Hans Christian Stoltz, a 53-year-old IT consultant, who was bringing his daughters to see Harry Styles perform at concert scheduled for Sunday night near the mall. "You might wonder how a person can do this to another human being, but it's beyond ... beyond anything that's possible."
Thomassen said the victims included a man in his 40s and two "young people," without giving details. Several others were injured, three of them critically, he said.
He said police received the first reports of a shooting at 5.37 p.m., and arrested the suspect 11 minutes later. Thomassen described the suspect as an "ethnic Dane," a phrase typically used to mean someone is white.
Danish broadcaster TV2 published a grainy photo of the alleged gunman, a man wearing knee-length shorts, a vest or sleeveless shirt, and holding what appeared to be a rifle in his right hand. "He seemed very violent and angry," eyewitness Mahdi Al-Wazni told TV2. "He spoke to me and said it (the rifle) isn't real as I was filming him. He seemed very proud of what he was doing."
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the Scandinavian country had been hit by a "cruel attack."
"It is incomprehensible. Heartbreaking. Pointless," she said. "Our beautiful and usually so safe capital was changed in a split second."
Images from the scene showed people running out of the mall, and TV2 posted a photo of a man being put on a stretcher. After the shooting, an enormous contingent of heavily armed police officers patrolled the area, with several fire department vehicles also parked outside the mall.
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."
The shopping centre is on the outskirts of Copenhagen just across from a subway station for a line that connects the city centre with the international airport. A major highway also runs adjacent to the mall.
On Snapchat, Styles wrote: "My team and I pray for everyone involved in the Copenhagen shopping mall shooting. I am shocked. Love H."
The royal palace said a reception with Crown Prince Frederik connected to the Tour de France cycling race had been canceled. The first three stages of the race were held in Denmark this year. The reception was due to be held on the royal yacht that is moored in Soenderborg, the town where the third stage ended.
In a joint statement, Queen Margrethe, her son Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, Crown Princess Mary, said: "We do not yet know the full extent of the tragedy, but it is already clear that more people have lost their lives and that even more have been injured."
"The situation calls for unity and care," they said in a statement.
The shooting came a week after a mass shooting in neighboring Norway, where police said a Norwegian man of Iranian origin opened fire during a LGBTQ festival, killing two and wounding more than 20.
It was the worst gun attack in Denmark since February 2015, when a 22-year-old man was killed in a shootout with police after going on a shooting spree in the capital that left two people dead and five police officers wounded.
------
Ritter reported from Unterseen, Switzerland.
I’m heartbroken along with the people of Copenhagen. I adore this city. The people are so warm and full of love.
I’m devastated for the victims, their families, and everyone hurting.
I’m sorry we couldn’t be together. Please look after each other. H
Forfærdelige meldinger om skyderi i Fields. Vi ved endnu ikke med sikkerhed, hvor mange der er sårede eller døde, men det er meget alvorligt. Kriseberedskabet i @Koebenhavner er indkaldt. Vi er klar til at hjælpe, hvis @KobenhavnPoliti efterspørger det. Vi er i tæt kontakt #dkpol
— Sophie H. Andersen (@SophieHAndersen) July 3, 2022
En person er anholdt i forbindelse med skyderiet i Fields. Vi har fornuværende ikke mulighed for at fortælle mere om vedkommendes identitet. Vi er massivt tilstede i Fields og arbejder på at danne os et overblik. Vi opdaterer her, så snart vi kan #politidkhttps://t.co/84Df2mspVD
— Københavns Politi (@KobenhavnPoliti) July 3, 2022
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
A 81-year-old Danish woman traveling from Africa to Canada was arrested at Warsaw airport on suspicion of illegal possession of heroin worth over US$515,000, officials in Poland said Friday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated Ontario judge Michelle O’Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada on Friday. She is the first Indigenous person to be tapped to sit on Canada's top court and the appointment is being celebrated as filling an important role at the highest level of the country's justice system.
A prominent Quebec cardinal is denying sexual assault allegations against him contained in a class-action lawsuit that was formally filed this week in Quebec Superior Court.
Nunavut's acting minister of community and government services says the territory has declared a state of emergency in Iqaluit to ensure the city can begin replenishing its water reservoir without delay.
As students across Canada gear up to enter what will be their fourth academic year in the pandemic, CTVNews.ca takes a look at what measures will be in place in schools, by province and territory.
As of today, individuals and businesses are no longer able to import restricted handguns into Canada, with limited exceptions. The move announced earlier this month is aimed at expediting a key pillar of the federal effort to cap the number of handguns in the country.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra is testifying before the House of Commons transport committee this afternoon about ongoing airport delays and flight cancellations.
A prominent Quebec cardinal is denying sexual assault allegations against him contained in a class-action lawsuit that was formally filed this week in Quebec Superior Court.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
Canadian flags hang alongside those of the French and British on the streets of Dieppe, France, each August as the city marks the anniversary of an important and disastrous day during the Second World War.
Nunavut's acting minister of community and government services says the territory has declared a state of emergency in Iqaluit to ensure the city can begin replenishing its water reservoir without delay.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Friday she had taken a drugs test following the publication of video footage this week that showed her partying with friends, and vowed she had never used illegal drugs.
A judge refused to grant bail Thursday to the man accused of trying to kill Salman Rushdie as the acclaimed author prepared to give a talk in western New York.
Ukraine's health care system struggled for years, but war has only made things worse. Care is being provided in the hardest-hit areas by doctors who have refused to evacuate or have rushed in as volunteers, putting themselves at great risk.
British national El Shafee Elsheikh was sentenced to life in prison Friday for his role in an ISIS scheme that took roughly two dozen Westerners hostage a decade ago.
A 81-year-old Danish woman traveling from Africa to Canada was arrested at Warsaw airport on suspicion of illegal possession of heroin worth over US$515,000, officials in Poland said Friday.
A Michigan judge on Friday blocked county prosecutors from enforcing the state's 1931 ban on abortion for the foreseeable future after two days of witness testimony from abortion experts, providers and the state's chief medical officer.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hinting that an energy pact planned between Canada and Germany will focus more on Canada's aim to be a long-term clean energy supplier to the world.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated Ontario judge Michelle O’Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada on Friday. She is the first Indigenous person to be tapped to sit on Canada's top court and the appointment is being celebrated as filling an important role at the highest level of the country's justice system.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will ensure that members of Parliament consider all the possible consequences of a trade trip to Taiwan.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
The next phase of Ontario's 'Plan to Stay Open' involves transferring of seniors from hospital to alternative long-term care homes, the hiring of thousands of health-care workers and a pledge to reduce surgical backlog.
Amazon appears to be getting the TikTok bug, joining other companies seeking to hold consumers' attention by introducing replicas of the popular social platform.
A woman who says she was sexually abused hundreds of times by R. Kelly before she turned 18 testified Friday that she agonized several years ago about whether to cooperate with federal investigators who were looking into child abuse allegations involving the singer, but that she ultimately did because she didn't want to 'carry his lies.'
A Chinese-born Canadian tycoon who disappeared from Hong Kong in 2017 was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison for a multibillion-dollar string of financial offenses and his company was fined US$8.1 billion, a court announced.
Canadian retail sales increased 1.1 per cent to $63.1 billion in June, boosted by higher sales at gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers, Statistics Canada said Friday.
Lab-grown diamonds have become so popular with consumers that some couples are asking jewelers to swap the natural diamond in their rings for a lab-created sparkler.
A Toronto-based disability advocate is using the power of TikTok to raise awareness over the lack of wheelchair accessibility at many restaurants and bars.
Two years after a secret bike park deep in an Ontario forest was discovered and later demolished, new dirt jumps are opening just a stone's throw away.
Felix Auger-Aliassime earned a berth into the quarterfinals Thursday with a comeback win over Jannik Sinner at the Western & Southern Open Masters-level tennis tournament.
Vanessa Bryant, widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, took the witness stand Friday in her federal lawsuit against Los Angeles County over photos taken and shared by first responders of the scene of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, their teenage daughter and seven others.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will serve an 11-game unpaid suspension, pay a US$5 million fine and undergo professional evaluation and treatment as part of a settlement with the NFL following accusations of sexual misconduct by two dozen women.
She may only have her learner’s licence, but that hasn’t held a 16-year-old Comox Valley, B.C., teen back from working towards her goal of being a professional driver. Nicole Haverda got the green light on her desire to be a professional race car driver four years ago when her father took her to a Formula One race in Europe.
