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A shopping mall shooting in Copenhagen was a random attack by a mentally challenged suspect, police said Monday, ruling out terrorism and revealing that two Danish teenagers and a Russian were killed.
Chief Inspector Soeren Thomassen said the unnamed 22-year-old suspect – previously described as an “ethnic Dane” – acted alone and apparently shot people at random during the terrifying 13-minute attack that left three dead in Sunday.
The officer added that the shooting – at a shopping complex packed with shoppers and Harry Styles fans waiting for the star’s concert nearby – was “not terror-related” and that the suspect was instead “known to psychiatric services” for mental health issues.
He said the unnamed suspect was also “only peripherally known” to police and would face preliminary murder charges later Monday.
Shooting in Denmark: The Field Shopping Center in Copenhagen
Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima
Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima
Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima
Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima
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“There is nothing in our investigation, nor in the documents that we have reviewed, nor in the things that we have found, nor in the witness statements that we have, that proves that this was an act of terrorism,” he said.
Chief Inspector Thomassen said the three killed were a Danish boy and girl, both aged 17, and a 47-year-old Russian man, and that four other people, two Danes and two Swedes, were critically injured.
The officer’s revelations came after disturbing video footage emerged of the suspect carrying a large Scandinavian Target Rifle over his shoulder as he entered the Field shopping complex in southern Copenhagen to carry out his attack.
Other images show him apparently holding the weapon pointed upwards in front of him as he walks forward, pointing the weapon while on a staircase and then being led away by armed officers in handcuffs with his head down. He was wearing knee-length shorts, a dark sleeveless T-shirt and boots.
via REUTERS
Other videos showed terrified shoppers running away screaming in panic, while witnesses described people crying and hiding in stores.
Police have not released any more early details about the suspect, although a separate film apparently posted by him on YouTube shows him in multiple videos titled “I don’t care” holding guns to his head.
He also uploaded several playlists shortly before the attack with the titles “Killer music” and “Last thing to listen to” and a message below them that “Quetiapine does not work”.
Quetiapine is a medicine used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression and to treat drug addiction.
Meanwhile, witnesses today spoke of their horror at the attack. “He looked very violent and angry,” eyewitness Mahdi Al-Wazni told Denmark’s TV2.
“He talked to me and said (the rifle) wasn’t real while I was taking pictures of him. He seemed very proud of what he was doing.
Copenhagen Police Chief Inspector Søren Thomassen
/ via REUTERS
Maximilian von Renteln told the BBC he was “right outside” the Field shopping center yesterday when he heard loud gunshots.
“At the time I didn’t think it was shots, but shortly after I saw people running – and I instinctively did the same,” he said, describing how a bus he managed to jump into was later picked up by armed police who ordered passengers to raise their hands before searching a person on board.
“Everyone was in shock, no one knew what was happening. There were children on board.”
Styles, whose concert at the nearby Royal Arena was canceled after the attack, also expressed his shock and said he was “heartbroken” by the tragedy.
“I am devastated for the victims, their families and all those injured. I’m sorry we couldn’t be together. Please take care of each other,” he posted.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described the attack as “brutal” and that those affected included “innocent families shopping or eating out”.
“Our beautiful and usually so safe capital was changed in a split second,” she said in a statement. “I want to encourage Danes to stand together and support each other in this difficult time.”
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