JAKARTA - Several people were killed and others injured in a shooting at a shopping center in Copenhagen on Sunday, Danish police said, causing an international musician's concert to be canceled and security forces not ruling it out as an act of terrorism.
The attack rocked Denmark at the end of an exciting week, just after hosting the first three stages of the Tour de France cycling race, in an event that has sent thousands of cheering Danes into the streets across the country.
"Denmark was hit by a vicious attack on Sunday night. Several killed. Even more injured. Innocent families shopping or eating out. Children, teens, and adults," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement late Sunday, July 4.
"Our beautiful and usually so safe capital changes in a matter of seconds. I want to encourage Denmark to stand together and support each other in this difficult time."
Copenhagen police said armed officers were dispatched to the Field mall in the capital on Sunday afternoon after reports of the shooting, and had told people inside to stay behind and wait for help. Local media footage showed a group of terrified shoppers running from the mall.
Police launched a massive search operation across Zealand on Sunday morning, Chief Inspector of Police Soren Thomassen told reporters, but said there was no initial indication that another shooter was involved.
Thomassen declined to comment on a possible motive or whether the shooter was known to police.
Meanwhile, the capital's main hospital, Rigshospitalet, had received "a number of patients" for treatment, a spokesman said, and had called in additional doctors and nurses.
Danish tabloid BT published unverified video footage it said was taken by a witness to the attack, Mahdi Al-wazni, showing a man with a large rifle walking through the mall and swinging it over his shoulder.
"He looked very aggressive and shouted different things," Al-wazni told BT.
Footage published by tabloid Ekstra Bladet showed one person being carried by rescue workers to an ambulance on a stretcher.
"People first thought it was a thief. Then I suddenly heard gunfire and threw myself behind a counter inside the shop," a witness, Rikke Levandovski, told broadcaster TV2.
"He just shot into the crowd, not at the ceiling or the floor," he added.
This multi-storey shopping center is located about 5 kilometers (3 miles) south of downtown Copenhagen.
"My friend and I, suddenly we heard gunfire. I heard about ten shots and then ran as fast as we could to the toilet. We got into this small toilet where we were about 11 people," another witness who gave his name as quoted Isabella told public broadcaster DR.
The terrorist threat to Denmark is currently rated 'serious', with the greatest threat coming from "militant Islamism", according to a recent report from the Danish Intelligence and Security Service.
Threats to Denmark from far-right extremists are considered at a “general” level, meaning there is capability and/or intent and planning possibilities.
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A concert to be held by singer Harry Styles in Copenhagen on Sunday evening not far from a shopping center was canceled, police said.
"Our deepest thoughts and sympathies are with the victims, their relatives, and all those affected by this tragedy," the Queen of Denmark and the Crown Prince said in a statement.
In addition, an event in Southern Denmark to commemorate the end of the Tour de France stages, organized by the Crown Prince and in the presence of PM Frederiksen, was also canceled.
Copenhagen police will hold a second press conference on the shooting at 1245 local time.
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