Three killed in Copenhagen mall shooting, 22-year-old suspect arrested

Map of Copenhagen, Denmark, where shots were fired in a mall Sunday

A 22-year-old 'ethnic Dane' was arrested after the shooting

A gunman killed three people and wounded several others in a shooting at a busy Copenhagen mall on Sunday as panicked shoppers said they ran for their lives.

A 22-year-old Danish man was arrested after the shooting but his motives were unclear, police said. 

"He's not someone we particularly know," Copenhagen police chief Soren Thomassen told a news conference after the rare mass shooting, the first since February 2015.

"There are three dead and several injured, three of them in critical condition," Thomassen said.

On social networks, people had been speculating about a racist motive, or some other motive, the head of the investigation said, "but I cannot say that we have anything which supports that at this moment."

Images from the scene showed parents carrying their children as they fled the building and ambulance personnel taking people away on stretchers.

The shooting occurred around 5:30 pm, causing panic in the mall. Many visitors were there for a concert with British singer Harry Styles at the nearby Royal Arena, which was cancelled.

"We thought at first people were running because they had seen Harry Styles, then we understood that it was people in panic ... We ran for our lives," his daughter Cassandra said.

"I'm heartbroken along with the people of Copenhagen. I adore this city," the singer posted on Twitter.

The attack occurred two days after this year's Tour de France cycling competition started from Copenhagen, and the Tour organisers released a statement expressing their sympathy.

Witnesses quoted by the Danish media described how the suspect had tried to trick people by saying his weapon was a fake one, to get them to approach.

Other eyewitnesses told Danish media they had seen more than 100 people rush towards the mall's exit as the first shots were fired.

- 'We heard gunshots' -

"All of a sudden we heard gunshots, I heard 10 shots, and we ran as far as we could to take refuge in the toilet," Isabella told public broadcaster DR. She said she had hidden in the mall for two hours.

Footage of the arrest shows the suspect, wearing a white jumpsuit to preserve DNA evidence, being picked up by officers.

"Our beautiful and usually so safe capital was changed in a split second."

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she was "greatly saddened to hear about the shocking act of violence" while Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said his "thoughts go to the victims and their relatives and to the relief crews who are currently working to save lives".

In February of 2015, two people were killed and five injured in Copenhagen in a series of Islamist-motivated shootings.

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