A 22-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the alleged killings of three individuals at a shopping center in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.
In the assault on Sunday, three people—two 17-year-old Danes and one Russian were slain.
No evidence of a terrorist motive, according to the police, who also stated that the suspect had mental health concerns.
He was armed with a knife and a gun, and his shooting was reportedly random and “not motivated by gender or anything else.”
According to Danish media, the suspect showed up in court wearing a blue T-shirt and was escorted by three heavily armed officers.
While the media were there, the suspect’s attorneys declined to enter a plea on behalf of the accused, and the court ordered that the remainder of the hearing take place in a private room.
The suspect and the victims’ names were likewise banned by the judge. Earlier on Monday, police chief Soeren Thomassen told reporters that they thought the suspect, who was characterized as “an ethnic Dane,” was acting alone and unaided.
The suspect was “peripherally” known to police, he continued.
Police are also looking into footage of a young man brandishing weapons that have been going around on social media since Sunday and which they believe to be real.
The incident left four victims with significant injuries.
A 40-year-old woman and a 19-year-old woman are both citizens of Denmark.
A 50-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl from Sweden are the other two.
The chief doctor at one of the hospitals caring for some of the victims said without providing any additional information that one was still in critical condition.
According to police sources, the tragic attack started at Field’s mall on Sunday at about 17:35 (15:35 GMT).
One of Denmark’s largest multi-story shopping centers is next to a secondary school and a sizable student housing complex, and it is frequently crowded with young people.
Many of the people present in the mall described how they ran away or hid in restrooms, stores, and storage spaces.
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One of them, Isabelle, spoke to the media in Denmark and said: “Suddenly we hear gunfire – 10 bullets, I guess – and then we run through the mall and end up in a toilet, where we huddle together in this tiny toilet, where there are approximately 11 people.
We wait in the sweltering heat and are really anxious. This whole process has been awful.”Isabella Hjertholm, 13, told newsmen: “Before I heard people say someone was shooting, I initially didn’t think it was anything serious when we saw people rushing out of the theater.
Due to my lack of familiarity with the mall, I was unsure of where to evacuate, so I just followed a large group to a rooftop, where we, fortunately, discovered an emergency exit.
13 minutes after being informed of the attack, police detained the man close to the mall.
British singer Harry Styles was scheduled to play at a 17,000-capacity arena less than a mile from the mall; thousands had already gathered inside when the event was postponed.
Police took fans, many of whom were in their teens, to subterranean stations where their parents picked them up, according to Danish media.
Concertgoer Jan Muller praised the police’s actions, telling the BBC that “they acted incredibly swiftly, organizing transport for everyone.”
