A 22-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the alleged killings of three individuals at a shopping centre 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.
Authorities announced that the suspect would be held for 24 days in a secure mental health facility.
Earlier on Monday, police chief Soeren Thomassen told reporters that they thought the suspect, who was characterised 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.
The number of individuals shot has increased to 10 after three more people were struck by stray gunshots, according to police.
Six of the 10 people who were shot were women, and four were men, according to police inspector Dannie Rise. She said, “One of those shot was an Afghani.”
According to police sources, the tragic attack started at Field’s mall on Sunday about 17:35 (15:35 GMT).
One of Denmark’s largest multi-story shopping centres 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.
One of them, going by the name of Isabelle, told Danish media: “Suddenly we hear gunfire — 10 bullets, I believe — and then we flee through the mall and find up in a restroom, where we huddle together in this small restroom with about 11 other people.
“It’s really hot and we wait and we are really scared. It’s been a terrible experience.”
Another eyewitness, Mikkel Suldrup, who is a chef at a restaurant in the shopping mall, told the BBC’s Jessica Parker: “One moment I was making pizzas, the next moment a woman ran in and told us a man had started shooting… it just went chaotic… People crying, people panicking.
“A lot of people sought refuge in our restaurant. We had some kids who got lost from their parents. It was really terrible,” he said. “I was scared of course. You had this feeling he could have come into our shop.”
Police arrested the suspect near the mall – 13 minutes after being alerted to the attack.
Talking about the attack’s aftermath, Mr Suldrup said: “I saw a dead man being carried out. It’s indescribable, it really is. It’s unbearable.”
“You hear about these things happening in other countries, USA mainly, but you just don’t think it happens here.”
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, organising transport for everyone.”
