COPENHAGEN, Denmark—The man accused in a shooting that left three people dead and several wounded at a shopping mall in Denmark was ordered held for 24 days on July 4 after facing preliminary questioning in a city court, Danish police said.
The 22-year-old Danish male, who on July 3 allegedly opened fire on shoppers in the Field’s mall a few kilometers south of downtown Copenhagen, was arrested and charged with manslaughter and intent to kill. He was remanded to a psychiatric facility, authorities said.
The incident rocked Denmark following a week in which it hosted the first three stages of the Tour de France bicycle race and hundreds of thousands of cheering Danes flocked to the streets across the country.
The shooter, whose name is subject to a publication ban, shot and killed two 17-year-olds, a man and a woman, and a 47-year-old Russian citizen living in Denmark. Four other people were wounded by gunshots; three of them were now stable and one is in critical condition, a health official from Danish emergency medical services said.
The wounded included two Swedish citizens, a 50-year-old man, and a 16-year-old woman.
The incident isn’t being viewed as an “act of terror” based on current evidence, Chief Police Inspector Soren Thomassen told reporters earlier on July 4, adding there was no indication the suspect had acted with others.
“There has been some sort of deliberation and preparation [by the suspect] up to this terrible event,” Thomassen told a news conference, without providing details on the alleged perpetrator’s possible motives.
“Our current assessment is that these are random victims.”
A number of people were slightly injured when fleeing the scene, but not by gunshots.
The attack took place when many young people had flocked to the mall ahead of a concert due to be held by British singer Harry Styles in Copenhagen on the evening of July 3 not far from the shopping center. The concert was canceled.
“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,” Styles wrote on Twitter.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t be together. Please look after each other.”
The suspect, who police said was known to psychiatrists in Denmark, was in possession of a rifle, ammunition, and a knife when he was arrested.
Danish gun laws are strict and all weapons, with the exception of some hunting rifles, require a license issued by the police. The type of weapons used by the suspect had been legal, police said, but the shooter didn’t have a license to use them.
Denmark’s largest cinema operator Nordisk Film, which has a venue at the Field’s shopping center, said it had decided to close its theaters across the country on July 4 due to the shooting.
