Posted BY: Q1 | NwoReport
Three people were killed and another three wounded in a shooting at a packed shopping center in the Danish capital of Copenhagen yesterday, according to police.
A 22-year-old Danish man was arrested in connection with the shooting by armed officers near Field’s shopping center, said police inspector Soren Thomassen, head of the Copenhagen police operations unit.
Chilling images show the moment the gunman strolled through the shopping mall with the rifle slung over his shoulder before he unloaded on innocent bystanders.
‘We know that there are several dead’ and ‘several injured,’ Thomassen told a news conference, adding that terror can’t be ruled out and that the suspect was a white, ethnic Danish male.
‘We do not have information that others are involved. This is what we know now,’ he said, refusing to say exactly how many were believed to be dead or hurt.
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‘We investigate it as an act, where we can’t exclude, that it’s terror.’
Police have refused to comment on the gunman’s identity beyond confirming his nationality, ethnicity, and age in accordance with Danish privacy laws, but there are suspicions the perpetrator is Noah Esbensen, who recently posted multiple videos on YouTube entitled ‘I don’t care in which he held firearms to his head.
Images that emerged from the scene showed the suspect being led away in cuffs in a white hooded top – though another picture posted on social media revealed a man matching Esbensen’s description sitting in the grass, minded by armed police.
Meanwhile, mobile phone footage from inside the shopping complex seemingly showed the suspect clasping a Scandinavian Target Rifle, a weapon of choice for Nordic sport shooters which also appeared in Esbensen’s YouTube videos.
British singer Harry Styles was due to perform at 8 pm local team (6 pm BST) at the Royal Arena, a concert venue just 500 yards away from the scene of the shooting.
The pop star and former One Direction band member posted on social media: ‘My team and I pray for everyone involved in the Copenhagen shopping mall shooting. I am shocked. Love H.’
Shortly after the shooting, the organizer announced the concert would ‘proceed as planned,’ but later declared its cancellation, following criticism.
Danish tabloid BT published unverified video footage it said was shot by a witness to the attack, Mahdi Al-wazni, showing a man with a large rifle walking through the mall and swinging it around his shoulders.
‘He seemed very aggressive and shouted different things,’ Al-was told BT.
A bystander named Isabella told public broadcaster DR: ‘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.’
She said she had hidden in the mall for two hours.
Other witnesses described the gunman as a man around 1.8 meters tall carrying a hunting rifle.
At around 7:30 pm (5:30 pm BST), roads around the mall were blocked, the subway was stopped and a helicopter was flying above, said an AFP correspondent at the scene.
Heavily armed police officer kept onlookers back prevented locals from returning to their homes.
Copenhagen police earlier wrote on Twitter: ‘We’re on the scene, shots were fired and several people have been hit.’
Copenhagen Mayor Sophie H Andersen tweeted: ‘Terrible reports of shooting in Fields. We do not yet know for sure how many were injured or dead, but it is very serious.’
Fans preparing to visit the nearby Royal Arena for Styles’ concert also told of their disbelief and horror at the attack.
Hans Christian Stoltz, 53, who was taking his daughters to the concert said: ‘My oldest daughter who is 18, she is barely holding it together.
‘My other daughter, she got in the stampede that started when the perpetrator fired shots everywhere. Apparently, she got cut in several places as well from the people and fell over chairs. Awful.’
Stoltz’ daughter Cassandra, 18, said: ‘We didn’t know what to do, so we ran. People were guiding us towards the exit sign and we ran up to the roof and we were stuck there for a while and people were panicking all over the place and people were crying.’
